Aascar Ravichandran, the Tamil producer, says he is moving the Madras High Court against director Shankar and producer Jayantilal Gada over the Hindi remake of the Tamil film Anniyan, a report in The Times of India stated.
“I am going to court against Shankar and Jayantilal Gada. They cannot make the film without my consent as I own the copyright of the film and no other person has the right over it as I am the author of the movie,” the producer told TOI. He also said that a complaint has been filed against Shankar with the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce (SIFCC).
In April director Shankar had announced that he was remaking the Tamil film Anniyan in Hindi with Ranveer Singh in the lead. A day after the announcement, Ravichandran issued a statement claiming that the remake was “totally illegal.”
According to the statement, Ravichandran had bought the full rights of the story and has not yet sold it to anyone. He added that Shankar had “stooped to a low level” and asked the director to immediately stop work on the Hindi remake.
“The entire story rights were purchased by me from the writer Sujatha (alias late Rangarajan) for which full payment was done by me to him and necessary records are also available. I am the whole and sole owner of the rights of the storyline. As such, any such adaptation or remaking or copying the main plot of the said movie, without my permission, is totally illegal,” the statement read.
In response, Shankar too had issued a statement saying, “Given that the script vests with me, I am absolutely entitled to exploit the same in any manner I deem fit. In fact, you/your entity does not have the right to remake or make any derivative rights for Anniyan, as the said rights have not been granted to you in writing. In the absence of any assignment in writing from me, there can be no basis whatsoever to even assert that the ‘storyline’ vests with you.”
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While he said he is preparing to file a case now, Ravichandran also told TOI that the SIFCC has requested him to wait. “SIFCC, which has been supporting me, told me to wait a little longer as they have spoken to the film association in Mumbai,” he said, and added that since Shankar is not the producer of the film, it is with Gada that he needs to have a discussion about the project.
Released in 2005, Anniyan was a successful film which relied heavily on social commentary, featuring actor Vikram as a lawyer having a multiple personality disorder. The film, also starring Sadha, Nedumudi Venu, Nassar, and Prakash Raj, was dubbed in Hindi and Telugu in 2006.
The Hindi remake is set to go on floors in 2022.