None can claim copyright over anti-Hindi agitations, Parasakthi producers tell Madras High Court

The producers of the upcoming Tamil film Parasakthi, starring Siva Karthikeyan, have told the Madras High Court that no individual can claim exclusive copyright or authorship over historical events such as the anti-Hindi imposition agitations that took place in Tamil Nadu.

The submission was made in a counter affidavit filed before Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy during the hearing of a petition alleging plagiarism. The case was filed by scriptwriter Varun Rajendran, also known as K.V. Rajendran, who sought to restrain the makers from releasing Parasakthi on OTT and other platforms without granting him due credit.

In their response, the producers argued that historical movements, public protests, and socio-political events form part of collective history and are not subject to proprietary ownership. They stated that no single individual can assert exclusive creative rights over such real-life events, which are widely documented and form part of the public domain.

The affidavit further maintained that the film does not infringe upon the petitioner’s literary work and that any depiction of past political or social movements is based on historical facts and independent creative interpretation.

Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy is currently hearing the matter. The petitioner has alleged that Parasakthi draws substantially from his script and has sought appropriate recognition and credit before any digital or other release of the film.

The case brings renewed focus on the legal boundaries between creative interpretation and copyright claims in films inspired by real historical events.