Mohanlal-starrer 'Neru' accused of plagiarism; director Jeethu Joseph says 'film made with...'

Mohanlal and Priyamani starrer ‘Neru’ might have hit theatres and has also received a lot of praise, however, the film has faced its own share of controversy after the makers received a legal notice, claiming that the film is plagiarised. The petitioner also a scriptwriter Deepak Unni recently filed a written petition to the Kerala High Court, alleging that Neru’s director Jeethu Joseph and co-scriptwriter Shanti Mayadevi had forcibly bought a few pages of his story, further alleging that he was later removed from the film. It was only after the film’s trailer came out, that Deepak released that he had been cheated, the plea added. Neru faces plagiarism row While claiming that he had discussed the film’s script with Jeethu and Shanti back in 2021, Deepak stated that the duo convinced him to hand over the 49-page script to them, further claiming that they wanted to seek advice from lawyers to understand the legalities written in the courtroom scene better. Urging the court to put a stay on the films’ release, Deepak also stated that he understood they had copied his story when the trailer came out, featuring the exact sequences he had written. Considering the writ plea, while the court however refused to stay the release of the film, it posted the matter for further consideration. Jeethu Joseph issues statement  In line with the ongoing plagiarism row over his latest release, director Jeethu Joseph also issued a statement, claiming that the film was made with complete honesty and that a controversy had been created just before its release. Mentioning that the case files and the synopsis of what the writer had written were leaked online, the director shared a long post on his Facebook and asked the audience to watch the film and decide for themselves. “Neru was made with complete honesty and humor like no other film I have worked on. But in the last few days, as the release of my film is approaching, a controversy has arisen. You know the information that another person came forward claiming the story of the movie ‘Neru’ and approached the court for it. A synopsis of the story written by the said party is circulating on social media along with the case records. After watching ‘Neru’, you, the audience can judge what is wrong,” a part of his statement read.

In the meantime, the film which is a courtroom drama starring Mohanlal, Priyamani, and Anaswara Rajan in the lead roles revolves around the story of a blind girl who’s assaulted in her home. The film has received positive reviews from fans.