TV show Meri Awaaz… too similar to Sai Paranjpye’s Saaz

The much-conjectured-about TV serial Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchaan Hai, said to be inspired by the real-life rivalry between sisters Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle, has been on air for some weeks now.

The serial featuring Deepti Naval and Zarina Wahab as the singers – with Amrita Rao and Aditi Vasudev playing their younger versions – hasn’t drawn objections from the legendary Lata or Asha. Presumably, they have chosen to ignore the similarities which could be passed off as ‘coincidental’.



So far, so yippee. However, the serial’s trackers have also noticed resemblances to the content narrated by the stalwart writer-director-multimedia personality, Padma Bhushan awardee Sai Paranjpye in her film Saaz which was released in 1998.



Paranjpye’s film, which was acknowledgedly inspired by a media article written by Asha Bhosle’s daughter Varsha, featured Shabana Azmi and Aruna Irani as the singers, with tabla maestro Zakir Hussain playing the male lead.



According to sources, Paranjpye hasn’t seen the serial but her friends have been pointing out that the serial has strong resemblances to her film Saaz.

Could this just be ‘coincidental’ once again?

Paranjpye’s cult comedy Deepti Naval-Farooq Shaikh Chashme Buddoor was remade by David Dhawan, without obtaining permission from its creator. The filmmaker had taken the matter to court, it is learnt.

SpotboyE has been trying to contact Paranjpye about the serial since several days now –- but in vain.