Who has rights over Bogan?

Copyright issues have always haunted Tamil cinema. The latest film to fall into the trap is Bogan (directed by Lakshman) starring Jayam Ravi, Arvind Swami and Hansika in the lead roles. Now, cinematographer and director Antony, claims that Bogan was his story, titled as Halwa. Speaking to DC, he asserts, “I completed the story in 2011 and was in touch with Isari Ganesh and team. I had emailed the script. But, they made my film with another director and a huge star cast. After filing a complaint with Writer’s Association, they agreed that Bogan was my story. I was attacked twice by producer Isari Ganesh and team which forced me to register a complaint against Lakshman as well as the producer of the movie.”

However, when we contacted Lakshman, he accused Antony of being involved in this only for money —  “I haven’t even seen Antony before this case came up. Two days after I narrated the story of Bogan to producer Hitesh Jhabak, Antony also narrated a similar story to him. Jhabak advised him to work on a different project since both the storylines were similar. Antony, however, registered the story.”

Regarding himself not having registered the story, he says, “Since, my film was inspired from an English film, I did not register it. When I heard that Antony had complained against me, I filed a case in court. He is giving us this last minute pressure so that we will succumb and pay him money. But, that will not happen because my effort is genuine.”

Antony believes that big shots like Isari Ganesh and Prabhu Deva are involved in the project, which is why he isn’t getting any help from the Writer’s Association or the Director’s Association — “Director Vikraman suggested that I take '10 lakhs for the story. I don’t need the money. I worked as a cinematographer under Kasturi Raja’s direction and in a Hindi film as well. But, they haven’t been released. Halwa would have given me the big break. Sadly, I am not getting any solution for this problem.”

Lakshman, on the other hand, says, “We have no intention to attack Antony. Three days after he met Jhabak, he became a member of the Writer’s Union and registered the script. I will go ahead and file a defamation case against Antony,” he fumes. With Bogan set to release on December 23, it is unclear whether the court will interfere to solve this issue.