Stories of ‘Dridam’ and ‘Bhoothakaalam’ were stolen? Former IPS officer makes serious allegation

R Sreelekha, a BJP councillor in Thiruvananthapuram and a former IPS officer, has alleged that the Shane Nigam-starring films ‘Dridam’ and ‘Bhoothakaalam’ were made using stories she had previously written and shared. She further claimed that even the title ‘Bhoothakaalam’ bears similarities to her own story, titled ‘Bhootha Bhavanam’. Sreelekha made the allegations in a Facebook post.

In her post, Sreelekha said she recently watched ‘Dridam’ and did so purely by chance after learning that it was a police story.

“There is no doubt that the core plot of this film has been taken from my short story ‘Karinkudi Police Station’, which was published in Mathrubhumi Weekly several years ago,” she wrote.

She also shared a YouTube link to an audio version of the story for readers who may not have read the original publication.

Sreelekha further alleged that ‘Bhoothakaalam’, an award-winning film, was based on an experience she had recounted on her YouTube channel three years ago. She shared a link to that video as well and pointed out that the film’s title is similar to the title she had chosen for her own story, ‘Bhootha Bhavanam’.

The former IPS officer also noted another connection between the two films: both feature actor Shane Nigam in the lead role. She said she had admired Shane ever since watching ‘Parava’.

According to Sreelekha, the actor reminds her of a police officer who worked with her and whom she regarded as a younger brother. She added that the resemblance was particularly striking in ‘Dridam’, where Nigam plays a police officer.

She identified the officer as Muhammed, recalling that he would occasionally bring her mango saplings from his backyard, as well as pure honey and ghee as gifts.

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