ED Freezes Assets of Tamil Director Under PMLA
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Synopsis
The ED has temporarily confiscated three properties of Tamil director S. Shankar, valued at Rs 10.11 crore, due to allegations of copyright infringement linked to his film Enthiran.
Key Takeaways
- ED attaches properties of S. Shankar.
- Properties valued at Rs 10.11 crore.
- Investigation initiated by a complaint from Aarur Tamilnadan.
- Allegations relate to copyright infringement of Enthiran.
- Non-bailable warrant issued for Shankar's absence in court.
Chennai, Feb 20 (NationPress) The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Chennai Zonal Office has provisionally attached three immovable properties registered in the name of the acclaimed Tamil film director S. Shankar.
The properties, with an estimated value of Rs 10.11 crore, have been confiscated under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The investigation was initiated following a complaint lodged by Tamil writer Aarur Tamilnadan against S. Shankar in the 13th Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Egmore, Chennai, on May 19, 2011 (Case No. 2067/2011).
Tamilnadan contended that the plot of Enthiran (Robot), a blockbuster helmed by Shankar, was derived from his short story Jiguba. He argued that this constituted a breach of the Copyright Act, 1957, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), of 1860.
In response to the complaint, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) commenced an investigation, uncovering that Shankar had earned a hefty remuneration of Rs 11.5 crore for his contributions to Enthiran, encompassing story development, screenplay, dialogues, and direction.
As part of the inquiry, an independent analysis was conducted by the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). The findings indicated significant parallels between Tamilnadan’s Jiguba and the storyline of Enthiran.
The report scrutinized essential factors such as narrative structure, character evolution, and thematic elements. The results corroborated Tamilnadan’s allegations of plagiarism.
The 2010 feature film Enthiran, featuring Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai, was a tremendous commercial triumph, earning Rs 290 crore globally. However, based on the evidence gathered, authorities determined that S. Shankar had breached Section 63 of the Copyright Act, 1957—an offense now categorized as a scheduled crime under the PMLA, 2002.
Consequently, the Metropolitan Magistrate Court-II, Egmore, issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against S. Shankar for his repeated absences from court regarding the matter.
Writer Aarur Tamilnadan first published his short story Jiguba in the Tamil magazine Iniya Udhayam in 1996, which was later reissued as a novel titled Dhik Dhik Dheepika in 2007.
Tamilnadan asserted that following the release of Enthiran in 2010, it became clear that the film’s narrative had been appropriated from Jiguba. He accused S. Shankar and the production team of unauthorized reproduction, resulting in significant financial benefits at the cost of his intellectual property.
The Supreme Court dismissed his petition last year, which challenged an order by the Madras High Court concerning the copyright infringement case. Meanwhile, the ED has confirmed that further investigations are in progress.
