After earning critical acclaim and commercial success, Mohanlal’s Thudarum has now found itself at the centre of controversy. Filmmaker Sanal Kumar Sasidharan has accused the makers of copying the skeleton of his unreleased script, Theeyattam, written back in 2020.
In a detailed social media post, Sanal claimed that the Thudarum screenplay was lifted almost entirely from his work, except for what he described as “the core”—something the makers either didn’t understand or deliberately excluded. He even pointed out that a specific dialogue from his script, “Konnaal paapam thinnaal theerum,” was used in the film without relevance, calling it a “slip-up by careless thieves.”
Sanal’s sharp commentary has added fuel to ongoing debates about intellectual property in Indian cinema. The director of Thudarum has not yet issued a public response.
The crime thriller marked Mohanlal’s reunion with Shobana after 15 years and crossed ₹200 crore at the global box office. But now, its creative legitimacy is being questioned. If these claims hold any ground, Thudarum’s legacy might soon shift from a celebrated comeback to a cautionary tale about ethical filmmaking.