Former IPS officer Sreelekha IPS has accused the makers of Shane Nigam’s police drama Dridam of plagiarising the film’s script from a story she had written. The film released on OTT this past week and since then, has attracted attention for its gritty storytelling. As alleged by the IPS officer, the film has been lifted from her short story titled ‘Karinkudi Police Station’.
Sreelekha IPS posted her allegations on social media after watching the film on an OTT platform. She claimed that the film bore resemblance to a story she had written, which was published in Mathrubhumi Weekly around 15 years ago.
The film traces the first days on the job of a newbie Sub Inspector, played by Shane Nigam. After the character begins his duty at what is perceived to be a fairly peaceful police station, a series of terrible crimes begin to take place one after the other. The investigation of these crimes forms the rest of the story, as this newcomer struggles to come to terms with the challenges of his new posting.
Dridam is written by Jomon John and Linto Devasia, but according to Sreelekha, the film’s premise resembles the plot of her own story, set at a remote police station. Under her social media post, the officer also posted an audio version of the short story, which was available on YouTube.
She also accused the makers of another Shane Nigam film, Bhoothakaalam, of having borrowed elements from another short story on the same YouTube channel. Claiming that the story of Bhoothakaalam was inspired from a story titled 'Bhootha Bhavanam', the officer accused both films of having striking similarities to her work.
The makers of the two films have not yet commented on the allegations.