Non-bailable warrant issued against director Shankar over alleged plagiarism

A non-bailable warrant was issued against director S Shankar at a metropolitan magistrate court in Chennai on Saturday due yo the filmmaker's repeated failure to appear in court in connection with a plagiarism case.

The case was filed by Tamil writer, Tamilnadan, who claimed that the plot of Shankar's film Enthiran (2010) was similar to his short story Jiguba.

According to The Hindu newspaper, the story was published in the literary magazine Iniya Udhayam in 1996. 

The complainant alleged that Shankar's film, starring Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, violated the Copyright Act of 1957.

In 2020, the Supreme Court dismissed Shankar's petition challenging a Madras high court order against him related to the alleged copyright violation. This allowed the proceedings in the metropolitan magistrate's court to recommence. 

However, since neither the director nor his legal counsel has made an appearance at repeated hearings, the court issued a non-bailable warrant and adjourned the matter to 19 February. 

The filmmaker is currently involved in the filming of Indian 2, starring Kamal Haasan.