YouTuber-poet accuses 'Kesari 2' writer of lifting poem without credit
26 Apr 2025

Kesari Chapter 2, starring Akshay Kumar, R. Madhavan, and Ananya Panday, has been marred by plagiarism allegations.

YouTuber and poet Yahya Bootwala has accused the makers of lifting lines from his poem on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Bootwala shared a video on social media of performing the poem, along with a clip from the film where Panday delivers similar lines as part of her dialogue.

Bootwala accused 'Kesari Chapter 2's dialogue writer of plagiarism
Accusations

Bootwala took to Instagram to call out Kesari Chapter 2's dialogue writer, Sumit Saxena, for allegedly copying his poem.

He wrote, "So @nisoooooooooorg sent me a clip 4 days back from the movie Kesari 2 of dialogues he felt were copied from my poem, titled Jallianwala Bagh, published 5 years ago on @unerasepoetry YouTube channel."

"This is a clear copy-paste, and it's not like they've tried to hide it as well; matlab phusphusana jaisa shabd bhi uthaya hai."

'Worst thing you can do to a fellow writer...'
Plagiarism

Bootwala further slammed Saxena, saying, "As writers, the worst thing you can do to a fellow writer is pick their material up, blatantly use it without giving credits, and this is what I feel dialogue writer @sumit.saxena.35912 has done here."

"If you've ever felt attached to my work, please tag @karanjohar @karanstyagi @dharmamovies @akshaykumar and @ananyapanday so that this reaches them."

"Kisi ek topic par bilkul ek jaisi lines likh dena is anything but a coincidence."

'Kesari Chapter 2': A gripping period courtroom drama
Film synopsis

Directed by Karan Singh Tyagi, Kesari Chapter 2 is a gripping period courtroom drama.

It brings to life the story of C. Sankaran Nair, who took on the British Raj in the wake of the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Backed by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions, the film is a spiritual successor to the 2019 patriotic hit Kesari.

It was released on April 18.