Mohanlal’s Karmayodha director found guilty of plagiarism, ordered to pay Rs 30 lakh to scriptwriter

Court found Mohanlal’s 2012 film Karmayodha plagiarised and directed the film’s director, Major Ravi, to pay Rs 30 lakh as compensation to the writer.

Major Ravi faces majot setback in Karmayodha case. (Credit: Instagram/@mohanlal, @major_ravi)

After waiting for 13 years, scriptwriter Reji Mathew finally got his due after the Commercial Court of Kottayam found Mohanlal’s 2012 film Karmayodha plagiarised and directed the film’s director, Major Ravi, to pay Rs 30 lakh as compensation to the writer, who had accused the filmmaker of copying his script.

The case was filed by Reji before the film’s release, in which he accused Ravi and the film’s producer, Haneef Mohammad, of using his story, screenplay and dialogues without permission. Reji claimed that Ravi had approached him to write a script on women trafficking and, after several discussions and exchanges of ideas, he handed over the script to Ravi in good faith. Reji further stated that he had sought remuneration of Rs 30 lakh along with rights for sale in other languages. According to Live Law, Ravi had agreed to the proposal and assured Reji that he would discuss it with the producer.

However, Reji later learnt that Ravi was producing a film in which the screenplay and dialogues were credited to Ravi himself. Reji alleged that he came across the screenplay of the film through an article and realised that it was an adaptation of his work. He approached Ravi regarding the issue, but when he received no response, he moved the court and sent a legal notice to both Ravi and Haneef.

The court initially allowed the film to be released after the producers deposited Rs 5 lakh. However, it restrained the makers from exhibiting the name of the scriptwriter. Despite this, the makers went on to credit Ravi as the writer. Following this, Reji sought compensation of Rs 40 lakh.

Also Read | Manoj Bajpayee’s Jugnuma The Fable: A hypnotic plunge into a world where magical realism is both mirror and myth

In its verdict delivered 13 years later, the court found Ravi and Haneef guilty of infringing the copyright belonging to Reji. Since the court could not find any evidence on record to determine the total profit earned by the producers, it ruled that Reji was entitled to compensation of Rs 30 lakh — the amount he had originally sought from the producers — rather than Rs 40 lakh.

Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.