Shalini Vijaykumar denies plagiarism accusations

‘

Seeing Red

,’ the

Tamil short film

by

Shalini Vijaykumar

, has been accused of being plagiarised by the journalist

Jeyarani

. The short film has been selected by

MAMI

(Mumbai Academy of Moving Image) Select: Shot on iPhone Initiative; however, it has been the talk of the town for its accusations.

What did Jeyarani reveal in her Instagram post?

In an Instagram post shared by the writer and journalist Jeyarani, she mentioned that ‘Seeing Red’ is based on her story ‘Sevvarali Poocharam’ from one of her collections, ‘Sennilam.’ Not only is Jeyarani shocked to see the use of her content without any recognition or royalties, but she is also disheartened by the distortion of her vision about

cultural oppression

.
“Not only has every inch of it been stolen… but it has also been distorted and appropriated through a Brahminical lens. I was struck by deep inner turmoil upon seeing it,” she stated.

Jeyarani added, “Not only was my story about the cultural oppression suffered by women from marginalised communities under the guise of ritual stolen but it was distorted into the story of a Brahmin household, where the ghost is a grotesque madisar(a traditional saree)-clad Brahmin woman.”
Additionally, Jeyarani slammed the credited mentor of the film, Vetrimaaran, for the lack of social awareness and sufferings of the marginalised women. Along with an apology from Vijaykumar, the journalist has asked to remove the short film from all the platforms, claiming legal action would be initiated if they fail to do so.

Shalini Vijaykumar denied the accusations

In an interview with CNN-News18, Shalini Vijaykumar denied all the allegations, citing that while the resemblance is coincidental, the Tamil short film is an

original work

. Upon asking comment on Jeyarani seeking legal action, Vijaykumar stated that the writer has the right to do so; however, she shall seek legal channels as well to prove the originality of her work.

The idea for 'Seeing Red' originated...

Moreover, in an interview with The Hindu, Shalini said, “The idea for ‘Seeing Red’ germinated from me being the black sheep of my family. Despite having the privilege and freedom to act on my choices, many of my decisions have not been very welcome. How my mother has been impacted by all of this, and the system, inspired me to write it.”