More plagiarism charges hit Kalki 2898 AD as Hollywood artist claims makers knew his work

    Hollywood concept artist Oliver Beck recently shared two screenshots: one of his drawings for Star Trek, and another showing a screenshot from the trailer for Kalki 2898 AD. 

    Kalki 2898 AD accused of plagiarism.

    Kalki 2898 AD accused of plagiarism.

    The upcoming Telugu sci-fi drama Kalki 2898 AD is embroiled in allegations of plagiarism just days before its highly anticipated theatrical debut. Hollywood concept artist Oliver Beck has accused the makers of Kalki 2898 AD of recreating his work, which appears in the movie's trailer.

    Oliver Beck recently shared two screenshots: one of his drawings for Star Trek, and another showing a screenshot from the trailer for Kalki 2898 AD. He alleged that his art was copied and repurposed without proper permission. "Sad to see that some of the work I did for Star Trek: Prodigy got stolen by Vyjayanthi Movies in their trailer. This is the matte painting I did for Star Trek under the direction of Ben Hibon and Alessandro Taini, and then as it appears in the trailer," he claimed.

    In a recent interview, Beck also stated that Indian filmmakers had previously approached him to work on the movie. While he noted that the similarities might not be immediately obvious to untrained eyes, seasoned artists can easily spot how his work influenced the art used in the Indian film.

    "It is not an exact copy, but the shapes are similar. It’s too much of a coincidence because they also contacted me to work on this film. So, they know my portfolio and have seen my work, so it’s too much of a coincidence," Oliver Beck told The Indian Express.

    Beck also mentioned that, from a legal standpoint, he has limited options to press his allegations against the makers of Kalki 2898 AD, as it is not an exact copy.

    Before Oliver Beck, another Hollywood artist, Sung Choi, had previously accused the filmmakers of "unauthorized use of his artwork" in Kalki 2898 AD. Sung's social media posts created quite a stir, but he has since deleted them, suggesting that he might have reached an agreement with the filmmakers.