Malayalam blockbuster flick "Drishyam" has landed in controversy once again. Satheesh Paul, a Malayalam filmmaker-scriptwriter, has filed a petition at the Ernakulam district court alleging that the film is a copy of his story published as a book titled "Oru Mazhakalathu" in May 2013.
Satheesh had sought the court to stall the Tamil remake of "Drishyam," which will star Kamal Haasan in the lead role. He has claimed that he wrote the story in 2009 and approached several producers, including Antony Perumbavoor, who is the producer of "Drishyam."
While Antony declined to produce the film, two other producers expressed their interest in making it with newcomers as a 2014 Vishu release. Later, when Satheesh Paul came to know about the storyline of "Drishyam," he checked with its director Jeethu Joseph, but Jeethu told him that the Mohanlal starrer is a family drama. Once "Drishyam" hit the screens, Paul found that the film is a copy of his story, Times of India quoted Satheesh's advocate Benoy Kadavan as saying.
Satheesh later decided to do a Tamil film based on his script. "He also had the script translated into Tamil. But now that Drishyam is being remade into Tamil too, with Kamal Haasan in the lead, he realised that the Tamil film too won't be possible," the advocate told the daily.
Following Satheesh's petition to stop the Tamil remake of "Drishyam," the Ernakulam district court has declared that the film will be stalled until the case is cleared.
Satheesh has reportedly sent notices to Jeethu and the producers of "Drishyam" Tamil remake. Reacting on his petition, Suresh Balaje, one of the producers of the Tamil remake, told Behindwoods, "It is strange to note that the Malayalam version was released some time ago and the petitioner is filing the case only now. Anyway, we have spoken to our lawyers and it has been taken care of. The issue will be resolved in our favour. Once the matter is resolved, we will go on floors very soon."
It may be recalled that Bollywood producer Ekta Kapoor has also filed a petition seeking to stall "Drishyam" remake in Hindi.
"Drishyam," which hit the screens in 2013, is one of the biggest grossing Malayalam films. The family thriller drama has already been remade in Kannada and Telugu with Ravichandran and Venkatesh reprising Mohanlal's role, respectively. Both the versions have also performed well at the box office.
