Director Mari Selvaraj's latest film, 'Vaazhai', is now marching towards a blockbuster success. The hard-hitting movie is said to be based on Mari Selvaraj's childhood events. Meanwhile, speculations rose that the story of 'Vaazhai' was plagiarised from renowned writer Cho Dharman's short story titled 'Vaazhaiyadi'. The veteran writer addressed this in his Facebook post:

"I received numerous phone calls from friends asking me to watch the film Vaazhai. They told me the film mirrors my short story. I watched the film today. My younger brother and my maternal uncle hail from Ponnangurichi, a village near Thiruvaikundam. The main crop there is bananas. Whenever I visited, I observed the struggles of young boys carrying banana stalks, which inspired my short story 'Vaazhaiyadi...'. In my story, there are elements like a lorry, a driver, a cleaner, a middleman, an owner, young boys and girls, their hardships, and wage issues.

However, it does not include a teacher, a handkerchief, expired goods, the communist party symbol, or an accident caused by sorrow.Vazhai is being celebrated now because it was adapted into a popular film. But my story, written a decade ago, remained as a piece of literature. I feel proud to have written a story ten years ago that is now being celebrated. As a creator, I take pride in this. My short story was featured as the second piece in my collection, Neerppazhi. There is a saying in villages about bananas: 'A banana can both elevate and demean.' The banana did not elevate me," he concluded.

In response to Cho Dharman's post, Mari Selvaraj wrote on his social media:"I just read the short story 'Vaazhaiyadi' by writer Cho Dharman, which is about the laborers who carry loads of bananas. It's a good story... Everyone should read it. Thank you, writer Cho Dharman."