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Directed by debutant director Mantra Murthy, Sasikumar starrer Ayodhya released last week. Famous writer S. Ramakrishnan has written the story for the film. But now various controversies have arisen regarding the rights to the story of this film.
Writer Madhavraj, writer Naran and Shankar Das have shared evidence on their Facebook pages that the story of this film is not written by S.Ra. What is behind this controversy?
A North Indian family, who are staunch followers of Hinduism, make a pilgrimage from Ayodhya to Rameswaram on the occasion of Diwali. But a member of that family dies in a sudden accident at the place of arrival. The story of the film is how they return to Ayodhya with the body of the deceased while they are languishing in an unknown place.
Writer Madhavaraj claims that the story of this film is his own. He mentioned on his Facebook page that he wrote this story in 2011 based on a true incident in Rameswaram.
Taking his story of “those who are too weak to cry” as it is, S.R.A. Madhavraj has alleged that he has used it for this film.
Similarly, writer Naran has alleged that some characters and some scenes from his short story “Varanasi” have been used in this film.
On the other hand, Shankar Das has sued the director of this film saying that he wrote the entire screenplay of this film, but no credit was given to him in this film.
It is noteworthy that both Naran and Shankar Das are standing in support of Madhavaraj in this matter.
BBC Tamil contacted the people involved to talk about the Ayodhya controversy.
“His habit is to steal the story”
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Naran, writer
“Writer S. Ra has been making a habit of stealing other people’s stories for many years, not today,” says writer Naran.
Speaking about this, he said, “In 2017, I had written a story called ‘Varanasi’. Director Ram has got the rights for this story of mine. But recently, when the trailer of Ayodhya was released, there was a hint of my Varanasi story in it. Many friends told me they felt the same way. So I immediately contacted the producer and director of this film.
“The trailer has a hint of my story, can I know the story of this film?” I appealed to them. Then, the director came up with this story. The producer said he had no idea about it.
Director, file a case if possible. It will be a good advertisement for the film,” he spoke very proudly. He did not answer me properly even after I patiently pointed out that it was not my intention to prosecute.
Similarly, I contacted the writer S. Rao at that time and presented my doubts.
To which he said, “This is a story I made exclusively for cinema fifteen years ago.” So when did you write it? Asked if I could see the original copy, he said, “I’m not in the habit of writing down the stories I make for cinema.”
From then on I could sense his dilemma.
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Now after the release of the film, I went and watched the film. They have taken some characters from my story and shaped them as some characters for this film. Apart from that, four scenes in the film were taken from my story.
“Just now I have come to know another thing. The story of the movie Ayodhya has been made by taking 20 per cent from my story and 70 per cent from writer Madhavraj’s story. S. Rao is not new to stealing other creators’ stories. He has been doing such malpractices for years. So he must be exposed now.” Naran says.
“There are supports”
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Shankar Das
Only Mantra Murthy’s name appears in the film as writing and direction. But I wrote the entire screenplay for this film,” says Shankar Das.
Speaking to BBC about this, he said, “In 2018, Akkarai Productions contacted me to write the screenplay for a film. Mantra Murthy made his directorial debut with that film.
It was then that he gave me a story by SR Ra titled ‘Thirunaal’ and asked me to write a screenplay based on it. A Hindu family from Patna to Tamil Nadu travels to Rameswaram by car from Madurai. The story is that when one person dies in an accident, two people from Namur save them, give them the necessary help and send the family back to their hometown.
I am the one who changed ‘Patna’ to ‘Ayodhi’ in this story. I worked for the film for almost 8 months and prepared the entire script and gave it to the director. I was paid only fifty thousand rupees by the production company for writing the screenplay.
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After that, Akkarai Productions withdrew from this film due to some reasons, so I also went to work in another company. I don’t know what happened to this film after that. Now this film has been released using the screenplay written by me. But I was not recognized in it. My name is nowhere mentioned in the film. So I have filed a case against the director of this film,” says Shankar Das.
Talking about the controversy arising as this film is Madhavaraj’s story, he said, “Madhavaraj’s story of “Too weak to cry” was shared on Facebook. When I read it, I realized that the story given to me as S. Rao’s story and Madhavraj’s story were the same. The fact that the stories are the same is not a problem here. But Madhavraj’s story and S. Rao’s story given to me were identical line by line. 70 percent of the two stories are identical,” he says.
“Requires Authorization Only”
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Madhavraj, writer
“In 2011, I received information that a family from Bihar met with an accident in Rameswaram. I work in Grama Bank. The person involved in the accident is also an employee of Bihar Grama Bank. So through that a person working in Bihar Grama Bank contacted me and asked me to explain the incidents and help them. As I was out of town at that time, I sent comrades from our association, Samuel Jothikumar and Suresh Babu, to help them.
The family came to an unknown place, met with an accident and had no way to tell anyone and cry. That’s why I wrote this short story titled ‘Alaskood Tiraniyaduvars’ and uploaded it on my website within a few days of the incident,” begins the writer Madhavraj while talking to BBC.
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Samuel Jothikumar, Suresh Babu
Talking about the story of Ayodhya, he said, “I didn’t know anything about this film at first. Friends said it sounded like your story. When I saw the media reviews and social media reviews of this film, I didn’t doubt anyone even though my story seemed similar. But my friends told me to watch this movie, so I went and watched it. It was very shocking. This is my story. It was an added shock to hear that it was written by S.Ra.
When his friend Samuel Raj tried to talk to S.Ra about Ayodhya film, S.Ra avoided talking to him. Then I will try to talk to him. He didn’t answer me either. That’s when I started getting angry. So much so that he and I are from the same village. Even if you had taken my story, if you had said a word to me, so many problems would not have arisen. Such activities of S. Rao confirm that there is something wrong with him, that there is no integrity on his side,” says Madhavraj.
“We are not raising our voices for money. We are asking for recognition for ourselves,” he says.
S. Ramakrishnan denies the allegations
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S. Ramakrishnan, Writer
”I have made this story based on news published in newspapers. In the film too, the story is said to be based on true events. So, whoever claims the story of my Ayodhya movie, I firmly deny it,” writer S. Ramakrishnan told BBC Tamil.
Speaking in detail to BBC Tamil about the Ayodhya story controversy, S. Ra said, “A friend from Madurai gave me the information that helped a North Indian family when they were involved in an accident. I wrote this story based on the detailed information he gave. They have thanked him properly in the Ayodhya film. He also participated in the shooting. .
I have made many changes in the story when the director wanted to make it suitable for the screen. Its final form is the film as it is today. “They are making defamatory comments with the intention of tarnishing my reputation in order to gain publicity for themselves with a successful film,” he said.
He told BBC Tamil, “News is different, story is different. Fictional characters are combined in the story and created by the creativity of the creator. No creator can write anything if someone claims rights to the road accident and crime news as they allege.”
When BBC Tamil contacted the film’s director Mantra Murthy for his comment on the Ayodhya controversy, he said, “I don’t want to talk about it right now. “After a week, he will voluntarily tell the media about what happened,” he said.
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