The Madras High Court has issued a notice to the makers of HIT: The Third Case, the investigative thriller starring Nani, over allegations of story plagiarism. The court has directed the respondents to submit their reply by July 7.

The petition was filed by scriptwriter and author Sonia Vimalavelan, who claims that HIT 3 is an unauthorised adaptation of her original story titled Agent 11 and Agent 5. She alleges that she registered her script with the South Indian Film Writers’ Association in August 2021 and later shared a synopsis with actor-producer Nani in August 2022, seeking collaboration. Vimalavelan says she did not receive a response and was surprised to find strong similarities between her work and the final film upon its release.

According to her petition, HIT 3 borrows key narrative elements from her script with minor modifications. She has requested the court to prevent further distribution or assignment of rights related to HIT 3 and sought 20% of the film’s profits as compensation. Vimalavelan also claims that her formal complaint to the Writers’ Association yielded no action and urged the court to exempt her from pre-suit mediation due to potential financial loss.

HIT: The Third Case, written and directed by Sailesh Kolanu and produced by Nani’s Wall Poster Cinema, released on May 1. The film stars Nani and Srinidhi Shetty, with a cameo appearance by actor Karthi. It is the third instalment in the HIT franchise, a crime-investigation series featuring standalone cases linked by a wider narrative arc.