If one searches for 'copied Tamil movie posters' on the internet, a ton of examples ranging from Jilla - Vin Diesel photo-shoot to 2.0 - Captain America: Civil War poster comparisons show up. While some of them in there are blatant lift-offs of western art-works and concepts, others can be considered a hat-tip or 'an inspiration'.

At the beginning of this month, a new Tamil movie poster added itself to this list after it was found eerily similar to a Tarzan concept art. Netizens were left wondering if the makers of Aayirathil Oruvan 2 had hired the original French illustrator Mathieu Lauffray or his work was free to use with no obligations attached.

Tarzan Concept Artwork - By Mathieu Lauffray

Aayirathil Oruvan 2 Announcement Poster

Turns out Dhanush and Selvaraghavan's magnum opus is indeed off to a bad start, as Mathieu Lauffray himself seemed to have no clue why his work was blatantly plagiarized. MovieCrow reached out to the Paris based artist over the last few days and this is what he had to say about the whole fiasco. 

"At the beginning of January 2021 I was informed by many Indian comrades and colleagues of the announcement of the sequel to the great epic film "Aayirathil Oruvan", directed by Selva Raghavan.

However, it appears that the poster announcing the project seems to be very strongly inspired by a concept art that I had made on another project, more than 10 years before.

It was a complete surprise, I was never contacted to work on Aayirathil Oruvan 2, nor received any request regarding the use of my artwork. The use of my drawing within the framework of this poster of AO2 / Aayirathil Oruvan 2, is therefore done without moral or legal authorization.

It is natural for any designer to feed off of influences and it is always exhilarating to discover that their work inspires other creators. But in this particular case, for a film of such a stature, and clearly for commercial purposes, it is probably too literal an inspiration.

I would like to thank my Indian colleagues and journalists for bringing this matter to my attention.

I wish everyone an excellent and creative new year - Mathieu Lauffray"