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

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.

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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.