Mohanlal’s Malayalam crime thriller Thudarum has become embroiled in a plagiarism dispute after filmmaker Sanal Kumar Sasidharan took to social media to accuse the makers of the film of serious claims that the film was “made by stealing” from his unreleased project Theeyattam.
“It’s Made By Stealing The Skeleton Of My Screenplay”
The filmmaker was direct in his statement. In a lengthy post on his official handle, the filmmaker stated the screenplay of Thudarum was made by stealing from his script for Theeyattam that he wrote in 2020, and he stated this was the reunion of Mohanlal and Shobana after 15 years.
“I watched the movie Thudarum. It’s made by stealing the skeleton of my screenplay Theeyattam 2020. The essence in it however remains safe. Either in the sense they did not have the intelligence to understand the essence or they deliberately avoided it in their attempt to rewrite it in order to make it unrecognisable,” he continued.
“Even Professional Thieves Can Forget”: The Dialogue Scandal
The filmmaker did not stop here. He also claimed that the Thudarum team pulled an exact line from his script —
“Konnaal paapam thinnaal theerum.”
He reasoned that the dialogue didn’t fit into the new film at all and was probably just a thoughtless memory of the alleged theft.
“Even expert thieves whose business is to steal without a trace can forget themselves when driven by certain appetites,” he noted in his letter, implying that this reminded him of unintentional evidence of plagiarism.
A Project Gone Cold: What Was Theeyattam?
Sanal Kumar explained that he signed a contract with Century Films for Theeyattam, a project that became cold. The cast was originally slated to include Tovino Thomas, Manju Warrier, Murali Gopy, and Sudheer Karamana. The film never materialised, but the director thinks time allowed his script to be stolen.
Thudarum’s Box Office Success
Thudarum, released earlier this year, became a box office monster, reportedly raking in over Rs. 200 crores worldwide. Directed by an as-yet-unspecified filmmaker, the film starred Mohanlal, Shobana, Prakash Varma, G. Suresh Kumar, Binu Pappu, and others. The film was subsequently released on JioHotstar, where it opened to an incredible digital response.
The film received praise for its emotional depth and intense crime narrative — which now, ironically enough, is being examined for originality.
What’s Next? Will The Makers Respond?
The makers of Thudarum have not yet released an official response to Sanal Kumar‘s allegations. Pressure has been building from both fans and the Malayalam film community, so it remains to be seen if they will take legal action or if this will go away publicly.
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Box Office Worldwide Verdict
From blockbuster levels to plagiarism scrutiny — Thudarum is now mired in a painful controversy that could spoil its glorious ride. If the allegations stick, it could lead to a substantive debate about IP ethics in Malayalam cinema.
One thing is for sure, it isn’t done.
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