Malayalam Director Sanal Sasidharan alleges plagiarism in Mohanlal-starrer 'Thudarum'
NEW DELHI: Acclaimed Malayalam filmmaker Sanal Kumar Sasidharan has accused the makers of the blockbuster film Thudarum, starring Mohanlal and directed by Tharun Moorthy, of plagiarising the screenplay of his unreleased project Theeyattam.
In a detailed Facebook post, Sasidharan alleged that the core structure of Thudarum closely mirrors that of Theeyattam, which he wrote in 2020. The filmmaker claims that the plot of his script, which revolves around an auto-rickshaw driver named Ambi who is falsely implicated in a murder case, has striking similarities to the storyline of Thudarum.
'I saw the movie Thudarum. It's made by stealing the skeleton of my screenplay Theeyattam, which I wrote in 2020. The core of it remains untouched perhaps because the makers lacked the intelligence to grasp it or deliberately rewrote it in an unrecognisable way,' he wrote.
Sasidharan pointed out what he believes is a significant "slip-up" by the Thudarum team the inclusion of a distinct dialogue from his script that he says had no contextual relevance in the film. The proverb in question, 'Konnaal paapam thinnaal theerum' (loosely translated as 'the sin of killing is absolved by eating the victim'), was, according to him, lifted directly from Theeyattam.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
Film sets can't replicate the spirit of real locations: Director Rohit
For his upcoming film Ekka, starring Yuva Rajkumar and Sanjana Anand, director Rohit Padaki made a clear choice: to ground the movie in the raw reality of Bengaluru's busiest streets rather than the controlled environment of sets. 'Sets can never compete with what real locations can provide. There's an air of reality in every frame that you simply can't get from a set,' says the director. To achieve this level of authenticity, the film's team adopted a focused strategy. 'We shot in some of Bengaluru's busiest areas, like Shivaji Nagar, where we hid our cameras and filmed the scene; we wanted to make it look as real as possible. This method involved rehearsing scenes like theatre artistes, then moving to the actual locations for hidden-camera shoots. Nearly 30-40% of the film has been shot in this manner,' he reveals. Excerpts from a chat: 'KANNADA CINEMA IS DRIVEN BY A METROPOLITAN CULTURE' 'A metropolitan culture of filmmaking is taking over,' laments Rohit. He emphasises that for movies to truly succeed, the focus needs to shift back to strong writing, particularly one that embraces the 'native element which connects us to our roots.' The director points to other regional industries as examples. 'Take a look at Tamil or Malayalam movies; even though some of them are larger than life, they are still rooted in their culture. This connection is largely missing in Kannada cinema today because of the metropolitan culture of filmmaking, in most cases.' Earlier, the Kannada Film Industry used to make and release movies in short periods; it doesn't happen as often now Rohit Padaki 'WE TOOK ON A CHALLENGE TO FINISH THE MOVIE IN NINE MONTHS' Rohit adds that he found a unique advantage in a largely fresh team and an ambitious production timeline. 'Around 80 per cent of the crew and cast were new. It was a good experience working with them because everyone was very hungry for success. We took on a challenge to finish the movie, from start to finish, in nine months. I didn't want to waste too much time working on one movie,' he explains.
Hindustan Times
6 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
India's most expensive literary award — the JCB Prize for Literature — is officially discontinued; everything to know
In a move that has left the Indian literary world stunned, the JCB Prize for Literature — once the country's most lucrative book award — has officially been discontinued. The ₹ 25-lakh award, which honoured the best work of fiction by an Indian author each year, has been shut down, with no future editions planned. JCB Prize for Literature The confirmation came on June 21 from Mita Kapur, Literary Director of the JCB Prize, who said, 'The prize has been shut down. I am not going to deny something that is evident. But for everything else, 'no comment'.' The last winner of the award was Upamanyu Chatterjee in 2024, for his novel Lorenzo Searches for the Meaning of Life. While the reasons for the shutdown remain unclear, the decision closely follows the cancellation of the JCB Literature Foundation's licence. A notice dated March 12 on the award's official website stated that the foundation had applied to the Registrar of Companies, Delhi & Haryana, seeking to revoke its Section 8(5) license under the Companies Act, 2013. It added that the organisation would now be reclassified as a 'Private Limited' company, no longer functioning as a foundation. The award was given by the 'foundation', which was established to promote the 'art of literature in India'. About the JCB Prize for Literature Founded in 2018, the JCB Prize was widely celebrated not just for its generous cash prize, but for its commitment to promoting Indian fiction across languages. Five out of the seven winning books were translations — a reflection of the prize's dedication to linguistic diversity. Landmark winners included Jasmine Days by Benyamin (translated from Malayalam), Delhi: A Soliloquy by M Mukundan (Malayalam), The Paradise of Food by Khalid Jawed (Urdu), and Fire Bird by Perumal Murugan (Tamil). Each shortlisted author received ₹ 1 lakh, and in the case of a translated work, the translator was awarded ₹ 50,000. When a translated novel won, the translator took home an impressive ₹ 10 lakh alongside the author's ₹ 25 lakh. As tributes pour in from authors, publishers, and translators across the country, the loss of the JCB Prize marks the end of a short yet impactful chapter in Indian literary history.
New Indian Express
7 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Producer of multilingual superhit 'Eega' issues copyright infringement notice to Malayalam movie 'Lovely'
KOCHI: The producer of the 2012 superhit multilingual movie 'Eega', directed by noted filmmaker S S Rajamouli, has issued a copyright infringement notice to the recently released Malayalam film 'Lovely' for portraying a housefly as a character. The Hyderabad-based production company Vaaraahi Chalana Chitram, in a press release here, alleged the movie 'Lovely' has reproduced, appropriated and exploited the character of a housefly 'visually' and 'narratively' identical to the housefly protagonist in its 2012 film. However, the makers of the Malayalam 3D film have denied the charges and said they will face the case 'legally'. They maintain that the film tells the story of a young dreamer who is capable of conversing with a housefly. On the other hand, the film 'Eega' is a revenge drama in which a murdered man incarnates as a housefly to protect his lover and take revenge against the antagonist.
