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EXCLUSIVE| Is Squid Game copied from Luck, or was Luck inspired by a French film?

A source hints that references from other films were taken for the 2009 Hindi film Luck, directed by Soham Shah, who has sued Netflix for copying his film.

Published on: Sep 19, 2024, 16:34:34 IST
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Filmmaker Soham Shah recently made headlines when he filed a lawsuit against Netflix and Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator of the hit series Squid Game, alleging plagiarism. Shah alleged that the hit show copied elements from his 2009 Hindi film Luck. However, it appears that Luck itself might have drawn inspiration from another film.

A still from 13 Tzameti, a poster of Luck.
A still from 13 Tzameti, a poster of Luck.

Also read: Squid Game controversies stack up with new lawsuit; Indian filmmaker accuses Netflix of plagiarism

A source tells us, "When Soham was making the movie, he mentioned to the team that he had referenced the French film 13 Tzameti (2005). It's not like this kind of story hadn't been made before. Many scenes in Luck also drew 'inspiration' from other films. In fact, when the movie was released, there were rumours about it being a copy of the 2007 action movie The Condemned, which Shah had denied at the time. I'm not sure what Soham expects to gain from suing Netflix.

When we reached out to Shah, he said, “As the matter is sub-judice, it won't be right to comment on anything.”

 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rishabh Suri

Rishabh Suri is an Assistant Editor, film critic, and professional overthinker of plot points. He writes for HT City, keeping pace with an industry where news cycles expire long before the popcorn gets cold. He completed his graduation in English Honours from Kirori Mal College, followed by a Master’s degree in English Literature-effectively training his brain to over-analyse classic texts before applying those exact same skills to 3-hour Bollywood blockbusters. He got into the profession when he had barely graduated from college and has been at HT ever since. At HT, Rishabh reviews films with a simple rule: skip the dense academic jargon and get straight to the point. Beyond reviews, as Assistant Editor, he helps navigate the broader circus of showbiz, tracking everything from OTT shifts to sudden box office panics. In a beat driven by loud PR machinery and carefully scripted answers, Rishabh prefers cutting through the noise to focus on how stories get made and why trends shift. When he isn’t writing against a deadline, he is usually sitting in a dark theater, compulsively memorising dialogues. For Rishabh, analysing movies isn't just a day job- it’s a habit he couldn't turn off even if he tried.

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