Writer Pubali Chaudhuri clarifies the Rock On !! 2 case

Arjun Rampal and Farhan Akhtar in Rock On!!

Writer Pubali Chaudhuri who got into a disagreement with Abhishek Kapoor over the script of Rock On!! 2 clarified that it was she who had filed the complaint against him, and not vice versa.
“I have been working on the screenplay of Rock On!! 2 for very long and had registered a draft last year. This is a usual practise for writers before they send it out to producers and directors. I was working on the project as a writer and Abhishek was supposed to be the director, so there there were a few discussions. Then there was a gap in the project and I was informed that Abhishek was no longer directing the project. Since I had a contract with the producers (Excel Entertainment) that I was bound to honour, I carried on working and re-worked on the story and script since then. Middle of this year, I was informed that he had also registered the last draft of the screenplay in his name. That’s when I filed a complaint at The Film Writers Association against him in June. I cannot comment any more on the issue as I have to wait till the Association gives its verdict,” said Chaudhuri.
The decision of the FWA was in Kapoor’s favour, and Chaudhuri has filed an appeal with the Appellate Board. According to Kapoor’s lawyer, Hitesh Jain, “The story idea was conceived by Abhishek in 2011 and shared with Pubali. Thereafter they worked together on the story, screenplay and script and developed the material jointly.”
The sequel will now be helmed by ad film-maker Shujaat Saudagar, who was second unit director on Excel Entertainment’s Don 2 and had also directed two promotional music videos of Fukrey.
The first installment, Rock On!! was about the journey of a band and its four members, Arjun Rampal, Farhan Akhtar,Purab Kohli and Luke Kenny. According to a source closely related to the project, Rock On!! 2 picks up from where it left off with the same characters. Reportedly the characters of the original film will remain the same, and there will be some new additions. It is said that Alia Bhatt will be a part of the sequel.