Jan 1, 2010

Spammer sues 3 idiots producers for ripping off his joke

The Vengayam,
January 2, 2010

While 3 Idiots has gone on to create box office records, the makers of the film have been rocked with a 'idiotic' controversy.

A person, known only by his internet pseudonym 'Joe Spammer', has accused the makers of blatantly plagiarizing his joke on the 'NASA pen, Soviet pencil'. Speaking exclusively to the Vengayam's special correspondent, Mr.Spammer claimed he was the first person to have made up this myth and forwarded it to his friends.

"I was verbally assured by the producers that they would give me a still credit at the beginning of the film. However, when I took my mom to see the movie, she couldn't find my name in the credits. She cried a lot and  as every maa ka ladla knows, no grown man can take his mom's tears lightly," Mr. Spammer thundered. "We even waited for the rolling credits at the end of the film, even while people were stepping all over our toes on their way out. We did not move even when the cleaning boys swept up all the over-priced popcorn over our feet. And the usher was shining his stupid flashlight at our faces. And we get this! Not even a rolling credit!!!"

When asked for his comments, Aamir Khan said, "I met Spammer a month before the movie. I told him I have not read the joke since I don't check my own mails. He said it is alright, since he believed that the joke used in the movie was only loosely based on his joke. I don't know why he is reacting this way now. We should drag him to court for initiating this stupid mail forward in the first place."

Meanwhile, in Noida, Mr. Chopra, the head of the ironically named Copyright Holder Of Plagiarism and Ripoff Activities (CHOPRA) Productions, caused a controversy when he allegedly asked a reporter to shut up at a press conference. When a journalist asked him for his reactions to Mr.Spammer's allegations, he thundered, "Have you read his mail forward? I have read his joke, so just shut up." He also alleged that Mr. Spammer was just looking for publicity since people had stopped clicking on his mail forwards and were instead favouring some Nigerians.

Reacting to comments that he is allegedly doing a publicity stunt, a visibly upset Mr. Spammer said, "I am not looking for publicity, millions have read my joke in their e-mail already. Countless self-improvement book authors have picked up on it. I am already famous, but think of the poor anonymous New Zealand ad copy writer whose joke they filched." Mr.Spammer also achieved the never performed before task for linking to a you-tube video while speaking.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that Mr.Spammer has been approached by Natraj Pencils for an endorsement campaign. However, Mr.Spammer said he was not interested in winning races, and would happily join Kaballah and dedicate his life to Madonna.
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PS1: You should've read Chetan's post to understand the theme and especially the last para.

PS2: If by some mysterious internet link back, Mr. Bhagat reads this, please note that this is meant to be harmless humour, even though if it may not be funny. No offence intended.

PS3: Since I do not believe in plagiarism (unless I am buying pirated CDs of godawful films), let me list out the credits... this post is inspired by Son of Bosey style of writing. I wish I could write half as well though. And this awesome site where I picked most of the links for this post.

PS4: The pencil joke is really a myth. Says here.

10 comments:

  1. "would happily join Kaballah and dedicate his life to Madonna" takes the cake!

    You're good at this satire stuff. Some bits were very Bosey like.

    The exam hall thing is very old and goes all the way back to urban legends supposedly based on then-obscure undergrads in Oxford.

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  2. @srk uncle,
    Oh only if the ex IITian and EX IIMan read this...!!!
    I oh-so-wonder y his other 'BUDDING' ex-techies-turnedbookwirters-turned-bookcritics
    have not held candle light marches in
    chennai's Tnagar(remember 2 states??)

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  3. @ Idling:
    well, it was that or Scientology :)

    and Bosey might sue you for even saying that! though I'll be all gracious and say "thanks a lot"

    and the exam hall thing... no one knows where these 'urban legends' start, and soon everyone claims it as their own :)

    @ SS and DS:
    one, nice name...

    two, uncle? UNCLE?? Nooooo

    and candle light marches serve no purpose other than to provide despo guys a chance to walk side-by-side with pretty gals... whose faces look even prettier by candle light!

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  4. ROFL
    Poor Chethan.. if only he had known this before, he'd have stuck to a non-filmy narration in 2 states!

    ReplyDelete
  5. hehe if vidhu vinod chopra reads this he may serve u with a legal notice :)

    also loved the candlelite march purpose comment hilarious

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  6. @ Chiju:
    I actually quite liked 2 states... and five point someone too...

    it's the books in between... the one night and the three mistakes that felt a bit too filmy...

    and Chetan's anything but poor!

    @ Deepak G:
    I hope VVC will also see the funny side of it :)

    and the only other purpose for a candle march can be supporting the candle makers' families... but that is not half as exciting as the walking with the pretty gals :)

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  7. For all you know, Mr. Petty Bhagat will serve you a legal notice for even naming his books.

    Been a while since I've read your blog. Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Nice and funny post! Methinks Bhagat and the 3-idiots people are helping each other by creating this copying controversy. As someone who has read the book and watched the movie, there is a lot of stuff in common.

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  9. @ Kavitha:
    I wouldn't call him petty... in fact, I am confused as to where I stand on this issue... but I got a chance to poke fun at the whole lot, so I am not complaining :)

    and Happy New Year to you too :)

    @ liberalcynic:
    one, it is not a 'copying' controversy... it is at best a 'how much was adapted' controversy since the rights were purchased anyways.
    two, let them decide how much percentage is common... I somehow liked the book better

    ReplyDelete
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