(This article is authored by Alar)

National Award-winning filmmaker Vetrimaaran, who is gearing up for the release of his much-awaited film Viduthalai on March 31, has landed in a controversy over his upcoming web series Nilamellam Ratham. The series, which features actor Ameer in the lead role and music by Yuvan Shankar Raja, was announced by ZEE5 India as part of its original Tamil line-up.

However, soon after the announcement, fans of popular writer Pa Raghavan took to social media to allege that Vetri Maaran had copied the title of his novel Nilamellam Ratham, which deals with the Israel-Palestine issue. The writer himself broke his silence and posted on Facebook that he had no connection with the web series and that he was not consulted or informed by Vetri Maaran's team before using his novel title.

The situation escalated quickly, with Vetrimaaran's associate Bala reaching out to Raghavan over the phone to defend the director's team and claim that they were unaware of the novel. Raghavan, however, was not impressed with the response, and expressed his disappointment and asked filmmakers to respect writers when they pick a story or title from novels.

The series written and produced by Vetrimaaran will be premiered on Zee5 which has Ameer playing the lead, while Ramesh Balakrishnan of Adhu fame was onboarded to helm the web series. The music will be composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, where veteran cinematographer PC Sreeram, will handle the cinematography.

As of now, Vetrimaaran has remained silent on the issue, leaving fans and critics speculating about the fate of the controversial title. It remains to be seen whether the director will choose to address the accusations or take action to amend the situation. He has not yet responded to the allegations of title plagiarism and seems to be focused on his film Viduthalai 1, which stars Soori and Vijay Sethupathi in lead roles.

இயக்குனர் வெற்றிமாறன் அவர்களுக்கு, தலைப்பு குறித்த விளக்கத்தில் 'நிலமெல்லாம் ரத்தம்' எனும் புத்தகம் இருப்பதே இப்போது தான் தெரியும் என உங்கள் சார்பில், உங்கள் உதவி இயக்குனர் கூறியிருக்கிறார். இதைவிட சிறுபிள்ளைத்தனம் எதுவும் இருக்காது. குமுதம் ரிப்போர்ட்டரில் தொடராக வெளிவந்தது… pic.twitter.com/ZsZ2RJJOFo

— Hariharasuthan Thangavelu (@Writer_hari) March 21, 2023