The children of Tamil novelist and recipient of Jnanpith Award late D. Jayakanthan have made an open appeal to actor Kamal Haasan to change the title, Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal, of an upcoming film he has been promoting.
Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal is their father’s literary work that fetched him the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1972, his children J. Kadhambari, J. Jayasimhan and J. Deepalakshmi said in an open letter to Mr. Kamal Haasan.
In the 1970s, the story was made into a Tamil feature film under the same title.
Arguing that Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal has become “synonymous with Jayakanthan” and is easily relatable to most people in Tamil Nadu, the letter said Jayakanthan was always “insouciant of plagiarism and believed it was a compliment to his genius. However, banking on such indulgence cannot be deemed ethical or moral”.
They said Mr. Haasan’s Unnai Pol Oruvan in 2009 has overpowered and almost erased the digital footprint of the original Unnaipol Oruvan, a 1965 Tamil film written, co-produced and directed by Jayakanthan.
“We certainly do not want the same to happen to Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal,” the letter said.
