Kaththi Story Controversy - A R Murugadoss vs. Gopi 

With Kaththi issue coming up for hearing at courts, more people are beginning to take the side of the underdog, director Gopi, as new evidences are starting.  Here is the up-to-date coverage of Kaththi story controversy.

1. Did Gopi register his script?

The primary question that will decide the outcome is whether Gopi register his case formally? As a quick background, Tamil Writers association registers scripts every Wednesday. The writers association stamps and signs every single page in the script and seals 2 bound script books. One of them is opened and shared with prospective film producers and makers while the other copy is kept safe and left unopened in a bank safe or at home. This process is followed across the Tamil industry by well-established directors to register even a one-pager prior to narrating their stories to actors or producers. Our big Tamil directors even register their scripts at 3 places -- Tamil writers' association, Mumbai screen writers registry and Hollywood screenwriters' guild. 

Gopi claims that he has submitted a bound copy to the court. It is not clear whether it has been registered as per the above procedures. If Gopi failed to register his script, his position will weaken substantially or become a non-issue in the eyes of the court. 

Does Gopi have it in him to write the Kaththi script?

The strong flavour of communism, deep-rooted conviction towards farmers and anti-MNC stance seen in Kaththi is consistent with Gopi's interviews as seen below. Some of the facts and points made in the video are also mentioned in Kaththi. It is clear that Gopi is actually more qualified and proficient than AR Murugadoss regarding this topic.

What is AR Murugadoss' position on this issue?

AR Murugadoss' camp's biggest argument is the premise of the plot is based on real-life incidents. The basic thread of farmer suicide, hero fighting against the MNC for the land is happening all over India and foreign countries. The real story of farmer fight against the establishment as such cannot be claimed by Gopi as his story.

AR Murugadoss and his writing team member, Jagan, are unwavering in their claim that they have never met Gopi before and they have openly declared it as an attempt to extort money. As per Gopi, the first meeting of AR Murugadoss happened more than 5 years ago in August 2009. Over the years, Gopi claims that he had met AR Murugadoss thrice while he has met and spoken to Jagan multiple times over the phone and in-person. Gopi needs to prove that he was in touch with Jagan and Murugadoss and had narrated the story to them. Gopi is confident that he has shared those proofs at the courts.

AR Murugadoss is no saint!

AR Murugadoss has a track record of plagiarizing from Hollywood and foreign movies as seen in his past movies. Ghajini is an unquestionable copy of Nolan's Memento. Even in Kaththi, there are many copied scenes as seen below. AR Murugadoss has compromised his integrity in the past. Whether AR Murugadoss would go down to the extent of systematically stealing scripts from a struggling director in a meticulously planned manner is up for debate.

Gopi's claims his scripts stolen for both "Madras" and "Kaththi"...

As the saying goes "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me..." is it shame on Gopi to have been fooled by both directors of Madras and Kaththi in quick succession and still not learn his lessons? Gopi also lodged a case against director of Madras, Pa.Ranjith for stealing his script.  The issue is rumoured to have reached an off-the-court settlement. 

What's at stake for each party?

Since this case is happening after the release of Kaththi, there are only 2 items at stake -- potential compensation amount and secondly personal credibility. It is believed that even if Gopi wins the case, the compensation amount expected is maximum of Rs. 20 Lakhs, remuneration for the highest paid script-writers in Tamil industry. AR Murugadoss has far more to lose if the judgment goes against him since it is more of his personal credibility and integrity being questioned.