ED attaches Rs 10.11 crore-worth properties of Kollywood director S. Shankar
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached three properties worth Rs 10.11 crore owned by Tamil film director S. Shankar in a case of alleged plagiarism related to the film 'Enthiran'. The case stems from a complaint filed by Aarur Tamilnadan in 2011.
ANI
Feb 21, 2025 17:56 IST
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], February 21 (ANI): Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Chennai Zonal Office has provisionally attached three immovable properties registered in the name of Tamil film director S. Shankar, with a total value of Rs.10.11 crore (approx.) under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
ED attached the properties on February 17. As per a release, ED initiated investigation on the basis of a complaint filed by Aarur Tamilnadan against S. Shankar before the 13th Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Egmore, Chennai, on May 19, 2011.
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.
— ED (@dir_ed) February 20, 2025
The complaint alleges that the storyline of the movie Enthiran (Robot), directed by S. Shankar, was copied from a story titled Jiguba authored by Aarur Tamilnadan, thereby rendering S. Shankar liable for violations under the Copyright Act, 1957, and IPC, 1860.
As per the release, "The investigation revealed that S. Shankar received a substantial remuneration of Rs. 11.5 crore for his multifaceted contributions to Enthiran, including story development, screenplay, dialogues, and direction. Furthermore, an independent report by the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) identified striking similarities between the story Jiguba and the movie Enthiran. This report, which examined narrative structure, character development, and thematic elements, lends significant support to the plagiarism allegations against Shankar. The movie 'Enthiran' (Robot) featuring Rajnikant and Aishwarya Rai as main lead grossed Rs. 290 crore worldwide, making it an all-time blockbuster at the time."
The release stated, "Based on the substantial evidence and records in hand, it has been determined that S. Shankar has violated Section 63 of the Copyright Act, 1957--a violation now classified as a scheduled offence under the PMLA, 2002."
Further investigation by the agency is under way. (ANI)
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