Listin Stephen who bankrolled the latest movie 'Malayalee from India' lashed out against 'Haal' scriptwriter Nishad Koya who had alleged that the filmmakers had stolen his screenplay for the movie. Nishad, who is best known for his work in 'Ordinary' had claimed that he had written a similar script in 2021 for a film, which was supposed to be directed by Joshiy. The project starring Jayasurya was announced on Joshiy's birthday but didn't kick off as planned.
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Nishad made the allegation just a day before the release of the film 'Malayalee from India'. However, the detailed post outlining the plotline, was deleted just hours before the movie's release. When contacted, Listin Stephen said the Film Producers Association had intervened and asked Nishad to remove the post since it was wrong to make the allegations on social media, without approaching the associations concerned.
“Malayalee from India was announced one-and-a-half years ago. If Nishad had a complaint, he could have approached the Film Producers Association or Film Employees Federation of Kerala. I am accessible most of the time. He could have approached me or Dijo Jose directly. Nishad is an experienced scriptwriter. He knows how the film industry works. He took the wrong approach, which directly or indirectly affected a movie, which was set for release,” he said.
B Unnikrishan, general secretary, FEFKA said the scriptwriter has the option to move legally or even approach the registered associations with his complaint if he feels his script was plagiarised or stolen. “We are yet to receive any complaint,” he said. Though Onmanorama tried to contact Nishad Koya, he was unavailable for comments.