The attempts to bag the copyrights of the story of Saji Thomas is turning ugly with both sides turning with claims to prove their point. Saji Thomas is dumb and deaf by birth, but that doesn`t hold him back in his aspirations. He came under the media attention recently and received lot of appreciation because of his invention of aircraft and flying it himself.

But now that seems to be a reason behind an internecine spat in the Malayalam film industry. Film Director Pradeep S. Nair and Actor Prithivraj in one side and in the other side there are actor/director Vineeth Sreenivasan, directory Srikanth Murali and writer Santhosh Etchikanam. This new copyright dispute comes after two earlier cases dealing with films Premam` and Ennu Ninte Moitheen`.

Film directory Pradeep says that he is confident in winning the legal battle as he was the one who first contacted Saji to turn it into a film.

It is said that only after Saji`s attempt hit the headlines that Santhosh Etchikanam and team contacted him for rights. They didn`t announce the project because of the date clashes which the hero of the film had. Such conflicts will only destroy the prospects of the film which is planned in a bigger budget and will also destroy the life of Saji Thomas.

But Vineeth Sreenivasan and team comes up with a different version. They are the ones who first announced the film and worked out a script. Their script was based on a youth suffering from autism making an airplane and it has nothing similar to Saji`s life.

Saji had never written his autobiography and a claim of copyright would not fall under its ambit. Sreekanth Murali claims that he first contacted Saji Thomas after the news of his attempt came out. Their story was somewhat similar to Saji`s life and they discussed it with him and took his permission. But the project got extended due to director Vinu Anand`s backing out and got shelved for almost one year. Meanwhile Prithivraj and team contacted Saji and bagged the copyright.

Pradeep M. Nair say`s that this legal tussle occurred when he had scheduled to start the shoot next month after receiving the copyright from Saji. They had offered Saji Thomas a good amount, better than “Ennu Ninte Moitheen” and even paid an advance. At this juncture, they were forced to contact FEFKA for an amicable settlement and redress.

Anyway, things are getting more complicated and we need to wait to see what churns out after FEFKA`s intervention.