Sai Madhav Burra and Varalakshmi Exchange Words Over Story
Noted writer Sai Madhav Burra commented in a social media post that his story was violated and the original story had a completely different soul.
The film S Saraswathi, which released in theatres on Friday, has been receiving mixed response from audiences. While many viewers appreciated the performance of Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, the film itself has drawn mixed reactions.
Amid this, a controversy surrounding the film’s story has become a talking point on social media. Comments made by noted writer Sai Madhav Burra have gone viral online. In a social media post, he wrote, “It started with my story but ended with a completely different one. The entire story was changed without informing me. My story was violated. What I wrote was not a revenge drama. The original story had a completely different soul.”
Responding to the controversy during a film event held on Saturday, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar clarified her position. She said she has immense respect for Sai Madhav Burra and denied allegations of copying the story. “He is a great writer. I did not steal anyone’s story. After paying for and purchasing the story rights from him, the story legally became mine. The script had remained with him for nearly six years. If it was such a powerful story, one might wonder why it wasn’t made into a film all this time,” she said.
She further explained that certain changes are inevitable while adapting a story for the screen. “After hearing the story, I discussed it with several people and most of them felt that the second half was not strong enough. Normally, we would sit with the writer and make the changes together. But Sai Madhav garu was busy with big projects, so that opportunity did not arise. He sent the story as an audio note. I took the core idea from it and modified the screenplay accordingly,” she explained.
Varalaxmi also stated that despite purchasing the story rights, she still credited Sai Madhav Burra as the story writer in the film titles out of respect. “After watching the movie, many people are tagging him and praising the story. Whether that recognition belongs to him or to us is something the audience can decide,” she added.
It remains to be seen how Sai Madhav Burra will respond to Varalaxmi Sarathkumar’s remarks.
