Director Shankar slams makers for unauthorised use of scenes from Tamil novel, vows legal action

CHENNAI: Leading Kollywood filmmaker S Shankar on Sunday slammed directors for allegedly using scenarios from the popular Tamil novel 'Veera Yuga Nayagan Vel Paari' written by CPI(M)'s Madurai MP and Tamil writer Su Venkatesan.

In a press meet for 'Indian 2' earlier, he mentioned stumbling upon the book during the Covid-19 lockdown and liking it so much that he finished writing a screenplay based on it and intends to make it into a three-film franchise. He had also added that he was in the process of finding the perfect cast for it.

However, upset by the unauthorised use of portions of the book by directors, Shankar penned a long note on X today, emphasising that as he was the copyright holder of the 'Veera Yuga Nayagan Vel Paari' novel, he would take legal action against copyright infringement.

He also urged makers to refrain from using concepts from the novel in their work and respect creators' rights.

Shankar wrote: "Attention to all! As the copyright holder of Su. Venkatesan's iconic Tamil novel 'Nava Yuga Nayagan Velpari', I'm disturbed to see key scenes being ripped off and used without permission in many movies. I'm really upset to see an important scene from the novel in a recent movie trailer. Kindly refrain from using scenes from the novel in movies, web series, and any medium. Respect creators' rights! Refrain from unauthorized adaptations of scenes. Refrain from infringement or face legal action!"

Following the social media post, netizens have speculated if the films Shankar was referring to indirectly are Suriya starrer Kanguva or Junior NTR's Devara. The trailers of both were released recently.

Meanwhile, Shankar is currently gearing up for the release of Ram Charan and Kiara Advani starrer Game Changer and Kamal Haasan's Indian 3.