After the recent notice from Tips Industries to producer Vamsi Krishna Srinivas accusing him of violating the copyright laws, the recent blockbuster Drushyam is in similar trouble.
Bollywood producer Ekta Kapoor has sent a legal notice to the producers of the Malayalam movie Drushyam. It is claimed that the script of the Malayalam film is not original and is an adaptation of a Japanese novel titled The Devotion of Suspect X and that Ekta Kapoor has acquired the right of the novel to make it into a Bollywood movie.
The producer has sued the maker of the Malayalam film and the makers of the Telugu version may also be dragged into the legal fight. On being asked about the issue, Suresh Babu, producer of the Telugu remake of Drushyam, says, “This issue has been brewing for a while and is coming out into the open only now.
What I have learnt is that Ekta Kapoor’s lawyer had sent a notice to the producer and writer of the Malayalam version of Drushyam and the producer has written back to the lawyer and is awaiting a response.”
But, Ekta Kapoor has bought the rights of the novel to make only a Hindi film and our films are in Malayalam and Telugu. As of now, the matter is still under discussion and action will be taken depending on the response we receive from Ekta’s lawyers.”
“It is well known that Ekta Kapoor has been remaking international movies and taking credit for the same. This practice has been going on for a very long time and I see no reason as to why Ekta would want to make an issue out of this now. The reason, perhaps, might be that when her film releases, people may think it’s a remake of the Malayalam or the Telugu film instead of an adaptation of The Devotion of Suspect X. All said and done, I am sure that Jeethu Joseph, the director of Drushyam and Antony Perumbavoor will have strong reasoning to counter the suit filed by Ekta,” he adds.
On being asked if Ekta would be looking for a monetary settlement, Suresh Babu says, “I do not think so. But well, both the Malayalam and the Telugu versions have done really well at the box office and we are still waiting for a reply from Ekta’s lawyers, so cannot comment on the issue."
