Daijiworld Media Network- Mumbai
Mumbai, May 14: Aamir Khan’s much-anticipated return to the silver screen with ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ has ignited controversy shortly after the release of its trailer. What was expected to be a heartwarming sports drama is now being dubbed by many netizens as a “scene-to-scene copy” of the 2023 Hollywood film Champions, itself a remake of the acclaimed 2018 Spanish movie Campeones.
The backlash erupted almost immediately on social media, with users accusing Khan’s film of offering nothing original and calling for a boycott of what they describe as “lazy storytelling masked as inspiration.”
The trailer showcases Aamir Khan as a disgraced basketball coach who, after a run-in with the law, is sentenced by the court to coach a team of individuals on the autism spectrum. The emotional and comedic beats presented in the trailer bore striking resemblance to the plot of Champions, which followed a very similar storyline involving a minor league coach handling a team with intellectual disabilities.
Khan’s production house tried to spin the story with a quirky tagline: “1 Tingu Basketball Coach, 10 Toofani Sitaare aur unki journey,” but critics say that doesn’t mask the evident replication of the foreign film’s narrative.
X (formerly Twitter) users were quick to point out the similarities. Comments like:
• “The trailer of #SitareZameenPar looks like scene to scene copy of original Champions trailer.”
• “Guys do not watch Amir Khan's movie. You can just watch ‘Champions’. No difference at all.”
• “Copy paste material!”
– flooded the platform within hours of the trailer’s launch.
The original idea traces back to Spain’s 2018 hit Campeones, which struck a chord for its sensitive handling of disability and sports. Hollywood’s 2023 remake Champions then adapted the story with Woody Harrelson in the lead. Now, Bollywood seems to have taken the baton, albeit without a significant reinvention of the story.
Interestingly, Sitaare Zameen Par is already listed on both Wikipedia and IMDb as being based on the same Spanish original — a fact that has only fuelled criticism, with many questioning whether this was an “official adaptation” or a poorly veiled lift.
This controversy also opens the debate on Bollywood’s growing tendency to remake or adapt international content. While remakes are not new, the expectations from a filmmaker of Aamir Khan’s stature were clearly higher.
As the debate intensifies, it remains to be seen whether Sitaare Zameen Par will be able to justify its narrative choices or whether the mounting backlash will impact its box office fate.