No Problem makers accused of copying poster

It is that copycat syndrome again. Or so director Samir Karnik believes. In an angry outburst, he says that his posters of the three loveable Sardarjis - Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby Deol in Yamla Pagla Deewana has inspired director Anees Bazmee to put his entire male cast into turbans on the posters of No Problem.

Says Samir, "We came up with posters showing the Deols in turbans. Soon after that, I saw similar posters of No Problem with all their heroes Sanjay Dutt, Anil Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna etc. as Sardarjis, plastered all over town. It can't be a coincidence."

No Problem director Anees Bazmi agrees there is design behind the Sikh posters. "We shot the song with the entire cast dressed up in Sikh turbans a year ago. So where's the question of copying the other film? With due respects to Dharam paaji, Sunny, Bobby and Samir Karnik, my links with Punjab and Punjabiyat go back a long way. I made Singh Is Kinng. And if I had my way, I'd make Singh Is Kinng 2 too. But I am not being allowed to. You'll have to ask producer Vipul Shah why."

However, Samir Karnik gets the last word in on the question of Punjabiyat.

Says Karnik, "Almost everyone in the cast and crew of Yamla Pagla Deewana is Sikh. All the Deols, our leading lady Kulraj Randhawa, even our writer Jasvinder Singh Bhatt are Sikhs. They (the unit of No Problem) might have shot their turbaned song first. But our posters were out first."