ED attaches Rs 10.11 crore-worth properties of Kollywood director S. Shankar

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], February 21 (ANI): Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Chennai Zonal Office has provisionally attached three immovable properties registered in the name of Tamil film director S. Shankar, with a total value of Rs.10.11 crore (approx.) under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

ED attached the properties on February 17. As per a release, ED initiated investigation on the basis of a complaint filed by Aarur Tamilnadan against S. Shankar before the 13th Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Egmore, Chennai, on May 19, 2011.

The complaint alleges that the storyline of the movie Enthiran (Robot), directed by S. Shankar, was copied from a story titled Jiguba authored by Aarur Tamilnadan, thereby rendering S. Shankar liable for violations under the Copyright Act, 1957, and IPC, 1860.

As per the release, “The investigation revealed that S. Shankar received a substantial remuneration of Rs. 11.5 crore for his multifaceted contributions to Enthiran, including story development, screenplay, dialogues, and direction. Furthermore, an independent report by the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) identified striking similarities between the story Jiguba and the movie Enthiran. This report, which examined narrative structure, character development, and thematic elements, lends significant support to the plagiarism allegations against Shankar. The movie ‘Enthiran’ (Robot) featuring Rajnikant and Aishwarya Rai as main lead grossed Rs. 290 crore worldwide, making it an all-time blockbuster at the time.”

The release stated, “Based on the substantial evidence and records in hand, it has been determined that S. Shankar has violated Section 63 of the Copyright Act, 1957–a violation now classified as a scheduled offence under the PMLA, 2002.”

Further investigation by the agency is under way.