Mohanlal's Thudarum faces plagiarism allegations, filmmaker Sanal Sasidharan makes shocking claim: 'Even expert thieves...'

Malayalam filmmaker Sanal Sasidharan has accused the makers of Mohanlal film Thudarum of allegedly plagiarising the screenplay of his yet to be released film Theeyattam. Thudarum directed by Tharun Moorthy is considered among the successful Malayalam films of this year.

In a lengthy Facebook post, director Sasidharan accused the makers of Thudarum of plagiarising the screenplay of his film Theeyattam, which he wrote in 2020. His social media post, written in Malayalam, loosely translates as "I saw the movie Thudarum. It's made by stealing the skeleton of my screenplay, Theeyattam, which I wrote in 2020. The core of it remains safe, either because they (the makers of Thudarum) lacked the intelligence to understand its essence or because they deliberately avoided it in their attempt to rewrite it unrecognisably."

Sasidharan claimed that his story revolved around an auto-rickshaw driver named Ambi who was framed by the police after someone committed murder inside his vehicle. This plot, he said, bears similarity to Mohanlal's Thudarum. Providing evidence for the alleged plagirism of his screenplay, the director said that makers of Thudarum "unnecessarily" used one of his dialogues in the film, which he considers a major "slip-up" from the makers.

"A crucial dialogue from my screenplay, 'Konnaal paapam thinnaal theerum' (a proverb meaning, 'the sin of killing is absolved on eating') is used in this film despite being completely unnecessary. Even expert thieves, skilled at stealing without leaving a trace, can forget themselves due to certain whims. I felt the use of this dialogue was one such slip-up," he explained as he levelled allegations against the makers of Thudarum.

Sanal Kumar Sasidharan also claimed that he had pitched his story to Manju Warrier, Tovino Thomas and Sudheer Karamana. However, the film was shelved for unknown reasons. The filmmaker said that he will share his Theeyattam screenplay on Facebook so that people can see the similarities. "All of them have read the screenplay. Since five years is a long period, it's possible that they may have forgotten about it. I will be publishing my screenplay here soon," he concluded his note.

Sanal Sasidharan is known for his films, including S Durga, Chola and Vazhakku. As for Thudarum, the film was a blockbuster at the box office. This minimal budget film earned over Rs 230 crore worldwide and is the third highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time behind the 2025 action thriller L2: Empuraan and the 2024 survival thriller Manjummel Boys. (With inputs from ANI)

READ | From Smriti Irani, Amar Upadhyay to Ronit Roy, Mouni Roy; here's how Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi actors look after 25 years