LONDON: Jeffrey Archer, renowned novelist and former British MP, has accused Bollywood directors of stealing his storylines, The Guardian reported.

In an interview with Indian news site DNA, Archer was asked whether his novels would make good Hollywood film adaptations. “Forget Hollywood, just look at your Bollywood!” he replied. “These bunch of thieves have stolen several of my books without so much as a by your leave.” He cites the films “Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl” and “Khudgarz “as plagiarising his novels “Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less” and “Kane and Abel” — something that the Times of India also recently acknowledged.

Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl, like Archer’s novel, is about a conman battling revenge from three of the people he’s tricked, though the film cast the trio as women. Kane and Abel meanwhile, itself loosely based on the Bible story, became Khudgarz, a tale of feuding brothers.