R. Sreelekha, a BJP councillor and former Director General of Police in Kerala, has accused the creators of two Malayalam films of plagiarism [1, 2].
The allegations highlight growing tensions regarding intellectual property and the use of social media content as source material for commercial cinema in India. Sreelekha said that the filmmakers lifted core ideas from her personal work without authorization.
According to Sreelekha, the films ‘Dridam’ and ‘Bhoothakalam’ used story ideas she had previously shared on social media and in a Mathrubhumi Weekly publication [1, 2]. She said that the core idea of the films is lifted from stories and videos she shared on her timeline [1].
Sreelekha's accusations target the specific narratives used in the productions. She said, "They copied my stories" [2]. The former police official said that she had authored the material in question several years ago [3].
The dispute centers on the similarity between Sreelekha's published short stories and the plotlines of the two movies. The films in question include a production starring Shane Nigam [3]. Sreelekha said that the conceptual foundations of these projects were taken directly from her own intellectual property [1, 2].
While the films have reached audiences in the Malayalam cinema circuit, the accusations bring a public spotlight to the process of story development and the legality of adapting social media posts into scripts. Sreelekha has used her platform to bring attention to the alleged theft of her creative work [1, 2].
“"They copied my stories."”
This case underscores the legal ambiguity surrounding 'idea theft' versus 'copyright infringement' in the digital age. Because copyright typically protects the specific expression of an idea rather than the idea itself, Sreelekha's challenge depends on proving that the films copied her specific narrative structure and unique expressions from her social media and weekly publications.
