It's controversial/ Devara Director In Trouble: Koratala Siva Faces Legal Heat Over Srimanthudu Plagiarism Allegations

The legal trouble of Devara director Koratala Siva doesn't seem to be subsiding. The filmmaker, who has been accused of plagiarism by novelist RD Wilison alias Sarath Chandra, has reportedly been granted no relief in a case under Copyrights Act by the Supreme Court. The matter pertains to infringement of copyrights regarding the story and screenplay of the Mahesh Babu starrer Srimanthudu (2015) which Wilison claimed has been copied from Chachentha Prema, published in a Telugu magazine in 2012. 

The case has been ongoing since 2015 and in its latest directive, the Supreme Court said that Siva will face criminal charges according to the orders of the Nampally Sessions Court. 

No relief for Koratala Siva, SC issues directive

The case against Koratala Siva has been ongoing since 2015 when RD Wilison first approached the Telugu Cine Writers’ Association by submitting a representation to evaluate as to whether the film was made by copying his novel and to decide on the issue. 

The association formed a committee comprising of eight writer and a legal notice was issued. The matter was taken up by the Nampally Sessions Court which ordered to file criminal charges against Siva. This led to the director approaching the Telangana High Court, which dropped criminal charges. 

Now, SC has ordered that Siva will face criminal charges as directed by the Nampally Sessions Court, reported NTV Telugu.

Legal trouble of 9 years continues for Devara director

In the month of June, 2012 novelist RD Wilison was approached by Srimanthudu producers for making a film on the basis of his novel and an advance amount was also given. Later, Wilison alleged that Siva claimed himself to be the story writer, director and also responsible for screenplay. A committee formed after the complaint was filed before the Telugu Cine Writers’ Association also reported that the movie was copied from the Novel penned by Wilison.