Karishma Mehta, the founder of the renowned storytelling platform Humans of Bombay, finds herself at the center of a controversy as her organization has filed a case against People of India (POI) for alleged copyright infringement of its content. Amidst this dispute, an old video featuring Mehta discussing the origin of Humans of Bombay has surfaced on the internet.
In the video, Mehta candidly shares the inception of her brainchild, Humans of Bombay, revealing that the idea came to her “out of the blue” and simply clicked. She said, “Completely randomly and out of the blue, I stumbled upon the idea of Humans of Bombay and I started it. And it clicked. That period was a high of its own to start something new.”
During the video, Mehta also opens up about the challenges she faced. She discloses that her organization did not generate any revenue for the initial three years, and she was financially dependent on pocket money from her parents.
However, the recent controversy stems from Brandon Stanton, the creator of Humans of New York (HONY), who posted a note on social media expressing his perspective on the situation. Stanton alleged that Humans of Bombay (HOB) had drawn inspiration from HONY without encountering legal challenges. He further mentioned his previous willingness to overlook the appropriation but questioned the decision to file lawsuits against other platforms.
The video has garnered significant attention on social media, amassing nearly 500,000 views on various platforms. Internet users have expressed their opinions on the matter, with some criticizing Mehta for taking legal action against People of India.
While discussing the video, one user humorously remarked, “Randomly out of the blue, I think about making kids’ characters, one would be a mouse and the other a duck… maybe call it Dickey and Monald.”
Another user added a touch of humor, stating, “Yeah, I think I have heard similar reasoning from Anu Malik ji too.”
A third user expressed skepticism, saying, “When you tell a lie hundreds of times, it doesn’t classify as a lie anymore.”
The controversy has ignited discussions about the originality of Humans of Bombay and its similarity to Humans of New York. It has also raised questions about copyright infringement in the digital storytelling landscape.
The legal dispute between Humans of Bombay and People of India revolves around the alleged unauthorized use of films from Humans of Bombay’s Instagram account and YouTube channel, along with claims of People of India replicating HOB’s unique storytelling format without permission. This ongoing copyright battle has sparked debates on intellectual property and creative inspiration within the digital media domain.
Sources By Agencies
