Mumbai, July 23 - Is director Satish Kaushik's 'Teree Sang' a copy of Hollywood film 'Juno'? It may seem so going by the subject, but the filmmaker and his lead actors insist the film is an absolute original piece of work.

'I don't even think this really requires any justification,' Kaushik told IANS.

'That's because while 'Juno' had released in December 2007, we had already wrapped up a major schedule for 'Teree Sang' by then. How can we be accused of copying a film that wasn't even heard about much till then, let alone being released?' he added.

But Kaushik doesn't deny that he was indeed inspired by a Telugu film that was released a few years ago.

'I had seen this fabulous Telugu movie which again dealt with teenage pregnancy. I wanted the film's rights but couldn't get them. However, the idea stuck with me and I eventually decided to come up with an entirely different tale, though with the germ of teenage pregnancy. In the way it has eventually shaped up, 'Teree Sang' has nothing to do with that Telugu film though,' he said.

A film directed by Jason Reitman, 'Juno' is about a 16-year-old high school girl Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) who discovers she is pregnant with a child fathered by her friend and long-time admirer Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera). While at first she intends to have an abortion, she changes her mind and plans for the child's adoption.

'That's the very basic point in the plot where our film differs,' said Sheena Shahabadi, the debutante leading lady of the film.