Shortly after its theatrical release and digital premiere, the Shane Nigam starrer Dridam has come under scrutiny, with IPS officer Sreelekha R levelling plagiarism accusations against its makers. In a Facebook post, Sreelekha said that she happened to watch the film, directed by Martin Joseph and presented by Jeethu Joseph, because it is an investigation thriller. Then, she alleged that the film is based on her short story, titled Karinkudi Police Station, that was published 15 years ago. Produced by Mukesh R Mehta and CV Sarathi through E4 ntertainment in association with Bedtime Stories, Dridam is written by Jomon John and Linto Devasia.
The IPS officer cum writer revealed that she wrote the aforementioned short story for the Mathrubhumi weekly magazine all those years ago and presented it as an audio story five years before on YouTube. Interestingly, she said that director Rahul Sadasivan's multiple award-winning film Bhoothakaalam, also starring Shane Nigam, is "stolen" from a real life experience-based story, titled Bhootha Bhavanam (Haunted House), narrated in her channel five years ago.
It is worth noting that Karinkudi Police Station revolves around the experiences of a young sub inspector at a remotely located police station. The storyline is similar to Dridam, where Shane Nigam plays a rookie cop looking into multiple murders. While the film has received mixed response from the audience and has not become a box office success, there has been some good word of mouth for it after its digital premiere.
Interestingly, Sreelekha added, "There is another connection between these two films: both star Shane Nigam in the lead role." However, she praised Shane's performance in the lead role of Dridam, as well as said that she has been in admiration of him since 2017's Parava and that his role in the investigation thriller reminded her of a colleague, whom she considered a younger brother.
