(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) Chennai, September 5: The Madras High Court has issued notices to director Atlee and AGS Entertainment Pvt Ltd, the producers of the film 'Bigil', in a case alleging that the screenplay of the film was stolen. The court has also issued a notice to Archana Kalpathi, the executive director of AGS Entertainment Pvt Ltd.
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The case was filed by scriptwriter Amjath Meeran, who alleged that the script of 'Bigil' was his and demanded that the film's producers acknowledge his work. Meeran had approached the court in 2019 claiming that Atlee and AGS Entertainment had stolen his script titled 'Brasil'.
In his petition, Meeran sought compensation for the loss he suffered due to the alleged theft of his screenplay. As an interim compensation, he demanded Rs 10 lakh from the producers.
According to Atlee's affidavit, he had registered the screenplay of 'Bigil' with the South Indian Film Writers Association on July 4, 2018, and later registered a detailed script of 242 pages, including dialogues, on October 4, 2018, before the shooting of the film began.
In 2023, Meeran filed three applications requesting the court to admit additional evidence in his case, including a 2015 Writers Guild of America (West) certificate for his script. However, director Atlee submitted a counter-affidavit challenging Meeran's applications, alleging that Meeran's claims regarding 'Bigil' were false and that he was attempting to extort money.
Despite Atlee's objections, Justice P. Velmurugan initially approved Meeran's applications on April 8, 2024, contingent upon Meeran making payments of ₹1 lakh each to Atlee, AGS Entertainment, and Kalpathi by April 25. However, when the payments were not made, the judge dismissed the applications on April 26.
Meeran subsequently filed appeals, including a petition to excuse the 73-day delay in submitting them. The Madras High Court has now issued notices to the defendants, seeking their response to Meeran's petitions.
The film 'GOAT' starring Vijay and produced by AGS Entertainments was released on Wednesday, amidst the ongoing legal battle over the screenplay.
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