Madras High Court Issues Notices in Script Theft Case Involving Thalapathy Vijay’s ‘Bigil’(Photo Credit – YouTube)
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On September 3, 2024, the Madras High Court issued notices to director Atlee, AGS Entertainment, and its executive director Archana Kalpathi in connection with allegations of script theft for Thalapathy Vijay‘s film ‘Bigil’. These notices were issued in response to petitions from scriptwriter Amjath Meeran, who sought to challenge the dismissal of his earlier claims by a single judge.
Meeran originally filed a civil suit in 2019 following the release of Bigil, asserting ownership of the film’s script and requesting the appointment of an advocate commissioner to investigate the alleged infringement.
Amjath Meeran petitioned the court for an order directing the defendants to pay an initial compensation of ₹10 lakh, with further damages to be determined by the court. He claimed that his script, titled ‘Brasil’, had been unlawfully appropriated and used as the basis for the film ‘Bigil’.
In 2023, Amjath 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. He also sought permission to provide further oral testimony to support his claims. Meeran explained that the 2015 certificate was key to proving his case, but he had been unable to present it during the 2019 proceedings because it was not in his possession back then.
Director Atlee submitted a counter-affidavit challenging Amjath Meeran’s three applications, alleging that Meeran’s claims regarding Bigil were false and that he was attempting to extort money. Atlee contended that the applications were filed after the conclusion of the trial to address deficiencies in the evidence and questioned the authenticity of the 2015 Writers Guild certificate.
Despite these objections, Justice P. Velmurugan initially approved the applications on April 8, 2024, contingent upon Meeran making payments of ₹1 lakh each to Atlee, AGS Entertainment, and Kalpathi by April 25. 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.
