Controversy in the form of plagiarism has reared its ugly head in the wake of the State Film Awards declaration with scriptwriter Najeem Koya alleging that the story of the film Kaattum Mazhayum that won director Harikumar the award for the best storywriter at the Kerala State Film Awards is actually his.
Najeem explains that Harikumar called him in 2013 wanting a story and Najeem narrated this story to him after which Harikumar said that he wanted the story immediately, but Najeem was busy writing the script of another film and told him that he would be free only after 3-4 months.
Najeem continues, “After that, I had no communication with him and after four months I came to know Harikumar was doing a film, the screenplay of which was written by Santosh Echikanam.” Incidentally, Santosh is Najeem’s friend and they got talking, during the course of which it became evident that the story was Najeem’s which Harikumar was now claiming as his. Najeem says, “Santosh even offered to stop writing the screenplay. I then called Harikumar and he claimed to not know me! That made me see red and I lodged a complaint with FEFKA. FEFKA took a strong stand and a compromise was reached where he signed a paper agreeing to give credit to me and also agreed to give me '25,000 as remuneration. After that I have not seen him and the paper is still with FEFKA.”
He ends by saying that he would move legally.
Director Harikumar reacts, “Najeem Koya accompanied Sandra Thomas to get introduced to me. I met him for just two minutes during which he said that he has a story and he told me the gist. After that, I have never ever met or spoken to him. Two days before the shoot of the film, Najeem claimed that the story was his and filed a complaint with FEFKA. We reached a compromise and I promised that I would give him the concept credit. Is it possible for a person to narrate a story in one minute? I have decades of experience working with MT, Lohitadas, Sreenivasan etc, so why should I ask him for a story? I don’t know Najeem at all and even if I see him tomorrow, I may not recognise him.”
Talking about the core issue of the story being Najeem’s, Harikumar vehemently declares, “The story is 101% mine and I wrote the script for months. Why did Najeem remain quiet all this while and wait till the film got an award? The film was shown at two different festivals and why did he not react then? I have worked with several newcomers and have given them credit so why not Najeem if the story was his?” Harikumar ends by saying, “I have told Najeem to approach the court.”
