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Director Tarun Mansukhani says had he known Sandip Brahamin is the creator of the hat step in Housefull 5’s Laal Pari, he would’ve brought him in to choreograph the song.

Dancer Sandip Brahamin has accused Housefull 5 makers of copying his ‘signature hat move’ in Laal Pari.
Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan and Riteish Deshmukh starrer Housefull 5 maybe causing ripples at the box office but it’s courting a controversy on grounds of plagiarism. A digital content creator and dancer named Sandip Brahamin has accused the makers of copying his ‘signature hat move’ in the song video of Laal Pari. In a reel, Sandip stated, “I went to Instagram and YouTube and there is a movie called Housefull 5. It has a song called Laal Pari. They have copied my moves but they haven’t mentioned my name, they haven’t credited me (sic).”
Reacting to his statements, Housefull 5 director Tarun Mansukhani exclusively tells News18 Showsha, “I did read up something about that. To be honest, I hadn’t seen his videos before. I had only gotten to know it after we had launched the song. I came to know that the step that we’ve in the song is the hook step that he’s known for. I’m sure somebody must have seen it at some point somewhere and felt that it’s a great step to do and we did it.” For the unversed, Remo D’Souza has choreographed Laal Pari.
Tarun says that had he known about Sandip, he would’ve brought him in to choreograph Akshay, Abhishek, Riteish, Nargis Fakhri, Jacqueline Fernandez and Sonam Bajwa. “There was no intention to harm anyone or steal anything. Life isn’t that conniving. If I had known this guy before, I would’ve brought him in to choreograph the song for my actors. Who would be a better choreographer of Laal Pari than the creator himself? It’s as simple as that,” he remarks.
“There was no intention to engage in any kind of plagiarism. It’s just one of those things that ended up happening. We’ve very sorry if he feels like that. I want to reiterate that there was no intention of causing any harm of any form,” he further adds. While Sandip had posted his reel on May 3, his video went viral on social media after Housefull 5 released in theatres on June 5.
Meanwhile, Housefull 5 has entered the Rs 100 crore club, and its golden run continues. Talking about it, an excited Tarun tells us, “It feels fantastic because I came back to the theatres after 17 years. My last theatrical film was in 2008 [Dostana]. Right now, we’re at a Rs 178 crore gross worldwide.” He admits that this feat feels even more ‘special’ especially since it comes at a time when the box office is going through a dry spell.
“I’ve sat and worked on this film for the last two years and now it has been accepted. More than being happy, we’re grateful. We’re thankful to someone who’s watching from above. There’s a certain amount of relief that it’s done, it’s out there and it’s being appreciated. We’re thrilled with the positive comments that people who’ve enjoyed the film have written for us, for the messages, for the calls and for the numbers the film is making,” Tarun shares.

Titas Chowdhury is a Principal Correspondent at News18 Showsha. She writes about cinema, music and gender in cinema. Interviewing actors and filmmakers, writing about latest trends in showbiz and bringing break…Read More
Titas Chowdhury is a Principal Correspondent at News18 Showsha. She writes about cinema, music and gender in cinema. Interviewing actors and filmmakers, writing about latest trends in showbiz and bringing break… Read More
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