Jeffrey Archer has appealed to India’s government to stop Bollywood producers plagiarising his novels and turning them into films.
Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare, 74, said that Indian film-makers had turned two of his novels into films without permission and accused them of acting like a “bunch of thieves”.
He claims his novel Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less was turned into Ladies vs Ricky Bahl, a 2011 Bollywood romantic comedy, while his 1979 novel Kane and Abel became the film Khudgarz, without his permission.
“I am naturally unhappy that Bollywood producers steal my work and make no attempt to make any compensation,” he said during a visit to India to promote his latest novel, Mightier than the Sword. “It’s very disappointing that the Indian government allows them to get away with it.”
Lord Archer told Indian film-makers interested in his work to “contact my agent, Jonathan Lloyd at Curtis Brown”.