The
highly
anticipated
Bollywood
remake
of
Shankar's
Anniyan,
which
features
Ranveer
Singh
in
the
lead
role
has
been
making
headlines
lately
with
the
copyright
controversy.
Aascar
Ravichandran,
the
producer
of
Anniyan
had
lashed
out
at
director
Shankar
for
proceeding
with
the
Bollywood
remake
without
his
permission.
However,
the
senior
filmmaker
has
now
reacted
to
the
allegations
of
Aascar
Ravichandran,
with
an
open
letter.
In
his
letter,
Shankar
has
denied
the
allegations
of
the
producer,
stating
that
the
story
and
screenplay
of
the
film
belong
exclusively
to
him.
Read
Shankar's
official
statement
here:
"I
am
shocked
to
receive
your
mail
dated
14.04.2021
stating
that
you
own
the
storyline
of
the
movie
Anniyan.
In
this
context,
I
submit
that
the
movie
was
released
in
the
year
2005
and
everyone
associated
with
the
movie
were
aware
that
the
script
and
storyline
belongs
exclusively
to
me
and
in
fact
the
movie
was
released
with
the
tag:
story,
screenplay
and
direction
by
Shankar.
I
have
not
assigned
in
writing
any
script
or
screenplay
to
any
person,
and
continue
to
retain
the
right
to
exploit
the
script
in
any
manner
I
deem
fit.
As
the
admitted
author
of
the
literary
work,
my
rights
cannot
be
interfered
with
under
any
circumstances," said
Shankar
in
the
statement.
"I
am
rather
surprised
to
see
the
reference
of
late
Sri
Sujatha,
as
he
was
engaged
by
me
only
to
write
dialogues
for
the
film
and
was
accordingly
credited.
He
was
not
involved
in
the
script,
screenplay
or
characterisation
in
any
manner,
and
there
is
no
scope
beyond
his
engagement
as
a
dialogue
writer,"
said
the
filmmaker
regarding
Sujatha's
involvement
in
the
project.
"Given
that
the
script
vests
with
me,
I
am
absolutely
entitled
to
exploit
the
same
in
any
manner
I
deem
fit.
In
fact,
you/your
entity
does
not
have
the
right
to
remake
or
make
any
derivative
rights
for
Anniyan,
as
the
said
rights
have
not
been
granted
to
you
in
writing.
In
the
absence
of
any
assignment
in
writing
from
me,
there
can
be
no
basis
whatsoever
to
even
assert
that
the
"storyline"
vests
with
you,"
Shankar
added.
"You
as
the
producer
have
gained
substantially
from
the
success
of
the
film
Anniyan,
and
are
needlessly
trying
to
unjustly
enrich
yourself
even
in
my
future
endeavours
which
have
no
correlation
to
you.
Needless
to
state,
I
can
only
hope
good
sense
will
prevail
upon
you
after
this
clarification
and
you
will
stop
agitating
such
baseless
claims.
This
reply
is
issued
without
prejudice,
and
to
clarify
the
actual
situation
of
me
as
a
director
and
writer
being
subject
to
such
avaricious
and
illegal
claims
to
needlessly
attempt
to
jeopardise
my
future
projects."
Shankar
concluded
the
statement.