Filmmaker Shankar REACTS to being under copyright case by Enforcement Directorate; ‘I am deeply disheartened…’

Filmmaker Shankar who came under the scrutiny of the Enforcement Directorate over copyright issues for his film Enthiran has now reacted to the same. Read on.

By Srijony Das

Updated on Feb 22, 2025 | 01:15 PM IST | 16.6K

Game Changer director Shankar on his properties being seized by ED; ‘Baseless…’ (PC: Shankar on IG)

Director Shankar recently stirred controversy after he came under the radar of the Enforcement Directorate for his copyright case over the film Enthiran. Based on reports, his property worth Rs. 10.11 crores had been seized and attached to the case under the clause of the PMLA Act (Prevention of Money Laundering Act).

And now, the filmmaker has finally reacted to the matter. According to News18, Shankar in an official statement expressed his deep disheartenment over the massive step taken by the ED, despite clear legal indication that no copyright violation had occurred in the first place.

Dismissing it as a baseless accusation, he said, “I wish to bring to public attention a recent action taken by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Chennai Zonal Office, in which they have provisionally attached three immovable properties of mine, based on baseless plagiarism allegations related to the film Enthiran (Robot)."

He further mentioned that till date, he had not received any official communication from the ED regarding the attachment of his property and it was only what was circulated in the media. Shankar tagged it as a ‘misuse of the legal process’.

Towards the end, the filmmaker also expressed hope that the concerned authorities will revisit and review the actions and cease any further proceedings on the matter.

In his words, “I trust the authorities will review their actions and cease further proceedings in this matter. Should they fail to do so, I will have no choice but to appeal against the attachment order."

For the unversed, the copyright case against the filmmaker was lodged based on a complaint filed by writer Aurur Tamilnadan in a city court back in 2011.

The latter had accused that the plot of the Rajinikanth starrer Tamil language science-fiction action film bore similarities to his own story titled Jiguba and therefore accused Shankar of violating it under the Copyright Act.

Based on a successive investigation by the authorities, it was indeed found that both the stories had exceeding resemblances in terms of their characters, themes and how the plot gradually unfolds.