Enthiran movie plagiarism case: ED attaches Tamil film director Shankar’s properties worth Rs 10.11 crore

CHENNAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) provisionally attached three immovable properties of Tamil filmmaker S Shankar in connection with a plagiarism case involving the storyline of Rajinikanth-starrer Enthiran.

The assets, valued at Rs 10.11 crore, were seized under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED initiated investigations based on a complaint filed by writer Aarur Tamilnadan in a metropolitan magistrate court here in 2011. Tamilnadan alleged that the storyline of Shankar’s blockbuster film Enthiran (Robot) was similar to his story Jiguba. The filmmaker was accused of violating the Copyright Act, 1957, and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

During investigations, the ED found that Shankar had received Rs 11.5 crore for his work on Enthiran, including story development, screenplay, dialogues and direction. Additionally, an independent report by the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) identified significant similarities between Jiguba and Enthiran, particularly in narrative structure, character development and thematic elements. The findings strengthened the plagiarism allegations against the director.

Enthiran (2010), starring Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai, was a box-office hit, grossing Rs 290 crore worldwide.


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