Aamir Khan’s Sitaare Zameen Par courts controversy, netizens say ‘frame-by-frame copy’ of Champions, ‘What a perfectionist’

Sitaare Zameen Par erupts controversy

The trailer for Aamir Khan's upcoming movie Sitaare Zameen Par has caused a stir on the internet after many of the viewers viewers pointed out that it remarkably resembles the trailer for the English-language movie Champions from 2023.

Discussions swiftly erupted on Reddit and X as users shared side-by-side comparisons that suggested the Bollywood film seemed to be following Champions virtually scene-by-scene.

Aamir plays a peculiar, irritable basketball coach in the movie who ends up coaching a group of people with intellectual disabilities. The trailer's tone points to an emotional, endearing story that is full of love, humour, and personal growth. Promoted as “1 Tingu Basketball Coach, 10 Toofani SITAARE aur unki journey,” the film aims to be both touching and entertaining, with a message of inclusion and empowerment.

However, many online users were quick to point out that Sitaare Zameen Par bears a near-identical resemblance to Champions, which is currently streaming on JioHotstar. The official synopsis of Champions reads: “A disgraced coach mentors a team of intellectually disabled athletes, revealing their surprising abilities and changing his own life.”

! ?#SitaareZameenPar pic.twitter.com/1PiTJcpQc8
Mukesh Mathur (@mukesh1275) May 13, 2025

Netizens on Reddit and X (formerly Twitter) began dissecting the trailer, claiming that even minor details, like a tubelight falling gag, were directly lifted.

One user wrote, “The most important part is that he teaches us how to destroy a Hollywood movie by making the worst remake," another wrote, "After the Forrest Gump fiasco, he should have stayed away from remakes or adaptations.”

A person commented, "Are these guys so much brain drained that they can't pick a good story and make movies with all their might and resources. It's very interesting and it baffles me to see OTT platforms using better storylines and presentation, at times with less budget too." Another commented, "The problem that I see in this movie is we have a very niche audience who understand Basketball...Atleast they should have changed the sport like cricket lete , football , hockey... Thoda relatable lagta"

Another commented, “Perfectionist in copying the film frame by frame,” while someone else noted, “Even that tubelight falling scene and almost every gag is from the original... Story 99 percent same lag rahi hai.”

Another comment read, "What a perfectionist"

Looks like SZP is a frame-by-frame copy of the Spanish hit Campeones(2023).
byu/Chai_Lijiye inBollyBlindsNGossip

The film is directed by R.S. Prasanna and also features Genelia Deshmukh in a key role. Adding to the anticipation, the project introduces ten debutant actors including Aroush Datta, Gopi Krishna Varma, Samvit Desai, and Simran Mangeshkar, among others.

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While Sitaare Zameen Par is marketed as a feel-good comedy with a powerful message, the accusations of plagiarism may cast a shadow over its release and Aamir Khan’s reputation for originality.