PremiumSC dismisses appeal of makers of Suresh Gopi film against copyright case of Prithviraj, Jinu Abraham’s Kaduva
The Kerala High Court in 2021 had upheld the district court’s decision, asking director Mathew Thomas Plammoottil and team to refrain from shooting or proceeding with the marketing of the Suresh Gopi's Ottakomban
Last Updated: 07.14 AM, Apr 12, 2022
There are no signs of debutant director Mathew Thomas Plammoottil and Suresh Gopi’s film tentatively titled Ottakomban going on floors anytime soon. The makers of the film, which has been caught in a plagiarism case with Shaji Kailas and scriptwriter Jinu Abraham’s Kaduva for the past two years, had to suffer to another setback recently, with the Supreme Court dismissing their plea challenging the decision of the district court – of staying the shoot of Ottakomban till further notice.
The district court’s decision, asking the makers of Ottakomban to refrain from “proceeding with the production work of script by name Kaduvakunnel Karuvachan or Kaduva and also producing or releasing the said movie until further orders”, was also upheld by the High Court in April 2021.
In the most recent update about the copyright case filed by Kaduva scriptwriter Jinu, who alleged that Ottakomban was based on his script, the Supreme Court decided not to interfere with the case and has directed the trial court to expedite its hearing.
Mathew had reportedly worked as Jinu’s assistant director while the latter was shooting for Adam Joan. The protagonists of both Ottakomban and Kaduva are named Kaduvakunnel Kuruvachan. Jinu had approached the court in 2020 after the makers of Ottakomban had released a motion poster of the Suresh Gopi-starrer. The court had four hearings with the two parties before ordering a stay on Ottakomban in August 2020.
Meanwhile, Kaduva, which is helmed by Shaji Kailas, has completed shooting and is gearing up for release. The movie, which also has Vivek Oberoi, Samyuktha Menon, Arjun Ashokan and Seema, is a ‘mass’ action-entertainer that has Prithviraj playing a planter based in Mundakkayam. The film, which is co-produced by Prithviraj Productions and Magic Frames, is expected to hit theatres in May or June 2022.