Kollywood actor-writer Jai Akash has claimed that 'iSmart Shankar' is a complete copy of his Tamil movie 'Naan Yaar' (2016). Saying that Puri Jagannadh plagiarized its plot and screenplay without his prior permission, Jai Akash has called it a "direct remake of Naan Yaar".

"My film was made in 2016 with London as the backdrop. 'iSmart Shankar' is different only in one respect. Its backdrop is Hyderabad. I was planning to dub 'Naan Yaar' in Telugu. Nobody will watch it now because everybody knows the story. If 'iSmart' is remade in any other language, I should be paid suitable compensation. I know Puri personally and I didn't want to drag his name publicly. Since I couldn't reach him, I have come in front of the media," Jai Akash today said.

The Tamil Nadu Film Producers' Council has reportedly received a plagiarism complaint from Jai. C Kalyan, the President of South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce, is also vetting the issue.

Interestingly, a Netflix original titled 'iBoy', released in 2017, has a similar idea as that of 'iSmart Shankar'.