Malayalam director Sanal Sasidharan alleges plagiarism in Mohanal-starrer 'Thudarum'

Malayalam filmmaker Sanal Sasidharan has accused the makers of Mohanlal film Thudarum of allegedly plagiarising the screenplay of his yet to be released film Theeyattam.

Thudarum directed by Tharun Moorthy is considered among the most successful Malayalam films of this year.

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In a lengthy Facebook post, director Sasidharan accused the makers of Thudarum of plagiarising the screenplay of his film, which he wrote in 2020.

His social media post, written in Malayalam, loosely translates as "... The core of it remains safe, either because they (the makers of Thudarum) lacked the intelligence to understand its essence or because they deliberately avoided it in their attempt to rewrite it unrecognisably."

Sasidharan claimed that his story revolved around an auto-rickshaw driver named Ambi who was framed by the police after someone committed murder inside his vehicle. This plot, he said, bears similarity to Mohanlal's Thudarum.

The director said that makers of Thudarum "unnecessarily" used one of his dialogues in the film, which he considers a major "slip-up" from the makers.

"A crucial dialogue from my screenplay, 'Konnaal paapam thinnaal theerum' (a proverb meaning, 'the sin of killing is absolved on eating') is used in this film despite being completely unnecessary. Even expert thieves, skilled at stealing without leaving a trace, can forget themselves due to certain whims. I felt the use of this dialogue was one such slip-up," he explained as he levelled allegations against the makers of Thudarum.

The S Durga director also claimed that he had allegedly pitched his story to Manju Warrier, Tovino Thomas and Sudheer Karamana.

Sasidharan also claimed that he had pitched his story to Manju Warrier, Tovino Thomas and Sudheer Karamana to play crucial roles. However, the film was shelved.

The filmmaker said that he will share his Theeyattam screenplay on Facebook so that people can see the similarities.

"All of them have read the screenplay. Since five years is a long period, it's possible that they may have forgotten about it. I will be publishing my screenplay here soon," he concluded his note.

Sasidharan is known for his films, including S Durga, Chola and Vazhakku.

Thudarum was a blockbuster, made on a minimal budget film and earning over Rs 1,500 million (Dh63.9 million) worldwide.