Director General of Police (DGP)-turned-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor R. Sreelekha on Tuesday raised plagiarism allegations against the makers of two Malayalam films.

In a Facebook post, the Sasthamangalam councillor alleged that the core idea of the films Dridam and Bhoothakalam are lifted from stories and videos she had shared in her social media timeline in the past.

“I watched the movie Dridam because it is a police story. It would not be wrong to say that the original story of this movie is a short story Karingudi Police Station that I wrote a few years ago and published in the Mathrubhumi Magazine. I have also narrated this story as an audio story on my YouTube channel,” she wrote.

She further alleged that the idea of the 2022 film Bhoothakalam was stolen from an experience she shared on her channel three years ago. “Even the title is similar. I titled my story as Bhootha Bhavanam,” she wrote.

Director refutes charges

Rejecting the allegations, Martin Joseph, director of Dridam, told mediapersons that his film has no connection to Ms. Sreelekha’s story. “People who have watched the film will know that it has nothing to do with this story. I spoke to screenwriters Jomon John and Linto Devasia, who also said they were watching the video for the first time,” he said.

Dridam revolves around the story of a rookie policeman, played by Shane Nigam, who arrives at a rural outpost in the hills, where a series of horrific crimes puts him under pressure. The film, which was released last month, had its OTT release last week.

Directed by Rahul Sadasivan, Bhoothakalam, starring Revathy and Shane Nigam, is a critically acclaimed horror film on the ordeal that a mother and son, both with mental health issues, faces in their rented house.