Guwahati: The opening film of the Indian Panorama section, at the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI), The Jaws of Death has run into controversy as the director was accused of "visual plagiarism" by an Assamese cinematographer.
The wildlife documentary film, which is directed and produced by Gautam Saikia, was screened on Friday at Panaji.
Assamese cinematographer Jyoti Prasad Das in a press conference has accused the filmmaker of "visual plagiarism."
The Jaws of Death depicts the plight of animals at the Kaziranga National Park during high floods and how speeding vehicles kill them on the National Highway adjoining the park.
The documentary has bagged two awards, Assam State Award for Documentary Films and the Best Film Award in the North-East Documentary Film Festival in Shillong early this year.
The cinematographer alleged that the director of the film has used a number of his "exclusive footages" without his permission.
"I had shot some of the main visuals in the film and no one has the right to use them without my consent," Das added.
Das claimed that Saikia has to prove that he took the shots.
Saikia was quoted in a local newspaper, as saying that "his film was based on a series of collection of shots since 1997 and hence it is not unethical."
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