THIRUVANATHAPURAM: Actor Mohanlal’s directorial debut ‘Barroz’ gets into a legal entanglement, with just a month remaining for its release. George Thundiparambil, a non-resident Keralite in Germany, has served a legal notice on Mohanlal, screenplay writer Jijo Punnose, producer Antony Perumbavoor and director TK Rajeev Kumar, alleging plagiarism and copyright violation. “Though Mohanlal promised to address the issue no action was taken,” George Thundiparambil told TNIE.
Barroz, scheduled to be released in theatres worldwide on September 12, is based on the novel ‘Barroze: Guardian of D’ Gama’s Tressaure’, by ‘My Dear Kuttichathan’ director Jijo Punnose.
George alleged that the film’s story has many similarities with his novel ‘Maya’.
“The screenplay first written by Jijo Punnoose and corrected/changed by TK Rajeev Kumar later on, contains many elements that are copyright protected. Therefore it constitute unauthorized imitation of his novel ‘Maya’, accounting to infringement of copyright,” said the legal notice.
George urged the filmmakers to desist from further proceedings over releasing the film. Even after attempts to diffuse the issue, the plaintiff has decided to approach the court.
