Filmmaker Akbar Khan, who has made period films such as Taj Mahal, says there is a lot of plagiarism in Hindi movies as far as Hollywood is concerned.

Speaking to us, he said, ''Either sides, Bollywood and Hollywood, are being inspired by each other. If you see the latest flick Spiderman 3, it has traces of the film Sangam in it, what with the hero crying and tears rolling down his cheeks. It is high time that our filmmakers clean up their act and make original films.

Since the advent of DVD's and CD's it is hard for producers to conceal their source. I feel this will shrink business if we continue to copy Hollywood.'' A lot of filmmakers in Bollywood claim to be ''inspired'' by Hollywood flicks. Ramesh Sippy's film Sholay was inspired by The Seven Samurai. Amitabh Bachchan- Hema Malini film Satte Pe Satta was inspired by Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Sanjay Gupta's Kaante was inspired by Reservoir Dogs, Rakesh Roshan's Koi Mil Gaya was inspired by ET meets Forrest Gump, Saaya by Patrick Swayze-Demi Moore starrer Ghost, and Suresh Oberoi-Raj Babbar-Dimple Kapadia murder mystery Aitbaar by Dial M for Murder.

Some of the films which were ''inspired'' and failed miserably are Rekha-Mahima Chaudhury-Kim Sharma starrer Kudiyon Ka Hai Zamana which was inspired by the HBO hit series Sex and the City, and Yashraj Film Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai inspired by the huge Hollywood hit My Best Friends Wedding. Film-maker Ram Gopal Varma makes no bones that Sarkar is inspired by the Hollywood Al Pacino starrer Godfather.

Akbar Khan says, ''I made a film Haadsa in 1983 which deals with a schizophrenic. Two years later, there was another film from Hollywood called Fatal Attraction dealing with schizophrenia. The same flashes of the schizophrenic were depicted. I was happy I have original ideas. We do get inspired by each other, but don't go overboard. We need to keep a balance. It is high time Indian directors start making films which appeal to the international audience and the Indian diaspora as well.''