There
seems
to
be
no
respite
from
controversies
for
veteran
film
critic
and
columnist
Subhash
Jha.
Weeks
after
being
dragged
into
a
sexual
harassment
case
by
singer
Sonu
Nigam,
he
has
been
accused
of
lifting
an
article
on
Pink
Panther
2,
featuring
Aishwarya
Rai
Bachchan,
published
in
a
Mumbai
tabloid.
The
write-up
is
regarding
counter-claims
by
Pink
Panther
casting
director
Ilene
Starger
and
Aishwarya's
international
manager
Simone
Sheffield
insisting
that
the
actress
was
the
first
choice
for
the
role
and
not
Shilpa
Shetty,
as
the
latter's
publicist
and
spokesperson
Dale
Bhagwagar
had
claimed.
Jha's
article
appeared
with
a
"Copyright
2007
Indo
Asian
News
Service
(IANS)" in
the
print
media,
including
English
newspaper
"DNA",
and
websites
"nowrunning.com",
"indiainteracts.com",
"indiaenews.com"
and
"newkerala.com"
on
August
27.
Some
of
the
quotes,
like
the
following
one,
seem
the
same
line
to
line.
"Her
intelligence,
grace,
beauty
and
sophistication
are
just
what
the
role
requires.
And,
of
course,
she
has
a
touch
of
mystery
too.
She
fits
in
wonderfully
with
our
fantastic
ensemble
cast,
and
all
of
us
involved
with
the
film
are
thrilled
to
work
with
her,"
Jha
quotes
Starger
in
what
he
claims
is
"an
email
interview".
Jha
even
quotes
Aishwarya's
international
manager
Simone
Sheffield
saying
"Negotiations
went
on
for
a
month
to
secure
Aishwarya
and
her
dates",
word
to
word
the
same
as
in
the
story
that
the
tabloid
had
carried.
We
guess,
Jha
should
step
forward
and
clear
his
stand
before
he
gets
mired
in
yet
another
dispute.a