The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Chennai Zone Office, has provisionally attached three immovable properties registered in the name of famous Tamil film director S. Shankar, which are valued at Rs 10.11 crore appox.
The properties beloging to Shankar have been seized, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The action was taken after the investigation of a complaint filed by Tamil writer Aarur Tamilnadan against Shankar in the 13th Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Egmore, Chennai, on May 19, 2011.
Tamilnadan alleged that the storyline of Shankar's superhit movie Enthiran (Robot), was plagiarised from his short story Jiguba. Tamilnadan claimed it was a violation of the Copyright Act, 1957, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), of 1860.
Following the complaint by Tamilnadan, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had launched an investigation. During the investigation it was revealed that S Shankar had received a substantial remuneration of Rs 11.5 crore for his work on Enthiran, including story development, screenplay, dialogues, and direction.
During the inquiry, an independent report by the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) was commissioned and it was found that there are striking similarities between Tamilnadan’s story Jiguba and that of Enthiran.
The ED also issued a statement on its Twitter Handle: "ED, Chennai has provisionally attached 3 immovable properties registered in the name of S. Shankar, with a total value of Rs.10.11 Crore (approx.) on 17/02/2025 under the provisions of PMLA, 2002."
The report's findings supported writer Tamilnadan’s plagiarism claims.
Enthiran, starring Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, released in 2010 and was a blockbuster. It earned Rs 290 crore worldwide.
Authorities have concluded that Shankar has violated Section 63 of the Copyright Act, 1957 - which is now classified as a scheduled offence under the PMLA, 2002.
The Metropolitan Magistrate Court-II, Egmore, had also issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against director S. Shankar for repeatedly failing to appear in court regarding the case.
What Tamilnadan said
Aarur Tamilnadan had originally published his short story 'Jiguba' in a Tamil magazine Iniya Udhayam in 1996. Then this short story was republished as a novel titled Dhik Dhik Dheepika in 2007.
Tamilnadan had alleged that after Enthiran which released in 2010, had been lifted from his short story Jiguba. He had then accused Shankar and the film’s production team of unauthorised reproduction.
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