Vijay-Starrer ‘Sarkar’, Embroiled In Plagiarism Row, Now Set For Scheduled Release

After multiple controversies surrounding Tamil actor Vijay’s movie ‘Sarkar’ threatened to delay the film’s release slated on 7 November, roadblocks have been finally cleared with film director A R Murugadoss extending an olive branch.

Chief among the controversies was the plagiarism row involving Director A R Murugadoss and an assistant director Varun Rajendran. The latter had accused Murugadoss of plagiarising his story Sengol to make Sarkar. He also filed a complaint with the South Indian Film Writers Association, alleging that Murugadoss stole the idea from his story that was registered with the union in 2007.

This is not the first time that director Murugadoss has been accused of plagiarism as previously there were allegations against two of his movies which went on to do well at the box office. Ghajini starring Surya Sivakumar which was released in 2005 was lambasted for being too similar to Christopher Nolan’s Memento. Later, screenwriter Minjur Gopi claimed that the story of Kaththi starring Vijay in 2014 was stolen from him. Though he filed a complaint, he withdrew it later.

Prominent Tamil Actor and Director, K Bhagyaraj, chairperson of the South Indian Film Writers' Association, handled the case and helped the parties settle the issue out of court by asking the director to give Rajendran the credit he was obliged to. Murugadoss later released a statement saying that the film’s story was his and that both he and Varun had similar ideas but the assistant director had written the script before him.

Varun Rajendran later came out with his statement where he thanked ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay and his team for finally giving him his due credit.

He said, "I did not want a ban on Sarkar, I didn't come to court to stop Sarkar's release. I just wanted due recognition. I wrote this story in 2004 for Vijay. When I approached director S A Chandrasekhar (Vijay's father) and tried to work with Vijay, the film did not materialise for some reason.", as reported by India Today.

He also said that Vijay’s father was the reason he was motivated to fight for the credit that is due to him. "SAC sir is the one who taught me how to fight, and I only fought for my recognition. I did not ask for a ban or seek any monetary benefits. All I wanted was recognition for my work, and I am happy that Sarkar team is recognising my contribution," he revealed.

"On the occasion of Diwali, I present my Sengol story as a gift to Vijay, Vijay fans and SAC sir's family. Thank You," he added.