Director Aashiq Abu's much anticipated movie 'Virus', on the backdrop of deadly Nipah outbreak in Kerala, has ran into legal trouble. Uday Ananthan, director of Mammootty- starrer 'White', has filed a copyright violation complaint against Aashiq Abu citing that the name and the story of the movie was originally his.
However, responding from the shooting location of his multi-starrer, which is nearing completion, Aashiq questioned the logic behind Uday's complaint. "My movie is inspired from real incidents. So how can it be termed as a copy of someone's story," said Aashiq Abu from Kozhikode.
Acting on Uday's complaint, the Ernakulam district court on Thursday issued a stay order against the release of the movie. Aashiq told Onmanorama that he will take necessary action at the right time and added that he didn't want to get into the controversy at the moment.
Advocate of director Uday Ananthan said that Aashiq was informed about the matter when he announced the movie. He also said that a letter was sent to the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) regarding the issue, and that FEFKA had informed Aashiq on Uday's plans along with documents. However, Aashiq did not respond to FEFKA's notice, he added.
The stay will not only affect the release, but will bar the movie from being screened in festivals and from being remade in other languages. Uday's advocate said that a letter has been sent to the crew members informing the same.
