Author and journalist Jeyarani has accused filmmaker Shalini Vijayakumar of plagiarising her short story ‘Sevvarali Poocharam’ in the short film Seeing Red, selected earlier this year under the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI).
Jeyarani stated that she discovered the similarities on April 24 when a friend informed her about the film. The story in question had appeared in her anthology Sennilam, published in December 2024. According to her, Seeing Red closely follows the structure, visual cues, and theme of her work.
“Not only had every inch of it been stolen, down to the title (‘Sevvarali Poocharam’ – Red oleander flower string), but it had also been distorted and appropriated through a Brahminical lens,” she wrote in a social media post on Friday.
The author, known for her writings on caste, gender, and religious violence, says her story was born from personal memories of witnessing violent exorcism rituals inflicted on women in her village. She intended the piece as a cathartic response to those traumatic experiences. “As a child, I was deeply affected by seeing my mother and other women in my village subjected to exorcism rituals. I cried helplessly, unable to bear the sight. That memory remains etched in my heart like a stone,” she stated.
The film, directed by Shalini and mentored by acclaimed filmmaker Vetrimaaran, had its premiere last month and was released on YouTube on April 15, crossing 547K views. In response to the allegations, Shalini denied any infringement. “Any resemblance to other stories is purely coincidental,” she told TNIE, adding, “I wish to state clearly and respectfully that my film was an entirely original work.”
While Sevvarali Poocharam explores how women from marginalised castes are subjected to violence under the pretext of exorcism, Seeing Red reportedly shifts the narrative to a Brahmin household. Jeyarani contends that this change alters the political and social message of her original story. “In all my fieldwork, I have never come across any accounts of Brahmin women being possessed and subjected to whipping like marginalised women. I have neither witnessed nor read anything of that kind,” she said.
She further alleged that visual and stylistic elements, including the heroine’s “gait (including her distinctive hand-clicking gesture), her signature look and make up,” were lifted from her story and attributed to the ghost character in the film.
Raising concerns about caste appropriation, Jeyarani wrote, “What truly surprised me was the complete lack of social awareness among anyone associated with the film, whether Brahmin women, as a community, face such systemic oppression, or whether the film is, in fact, appropriating the pain and suffering of women from marginalised communities.”
She also criticised the silence from MAMI and filmmaker Vetrimaaran, who was credited as mentor on the project. “When I contacted him about this, he said he would read the story but even after a week, he claims he hasn’t read it. It’s possible he didn’t know the story was stolen,” she noted.
Demanding accountability, Jeyarani urged MAMI to withdraw the film from its lineup, called for a public apology from the director, and requested that the film be taken down from all platforms. “Plagiarism is a personal crime,” she stated. “But distortion and appropriation of a narrative is a social crime, a historical injustice.”
Do far, neither MAMI nor Vetrimaaran has publicly responded to the controversy.
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