Jawan copied from Thaai Naadu? Internet reacts to similarities between two films | Bollywood

Shah Rukh Khan‘s Jawan is off to a massive start at the box office. The Atlee film, which saw Shah Rukh in six different avatars, has created history by becoming the highest opening film of Hindi cinema with a worldwide gross of ₹129 crore. With the film trending on social media, many fans have however noted a marked similarity of the film with another film’s storyline. Many have said that the plot of Jawan is quite similar to that of the 1989 Tamil release Thaai Naadu. (Also read: When Shah Rukh Khan promised to fly Jawan co-star Nayanthara to Mumbai for her Bollywood debut and Atlee approved. Watch)

Copied from Thaai Naadu?

A user took to X (formerly called Twitter) and alleged that Atlee has copied the plotline of a 1989 Tamil film, Thaai Naadu (motherland), which starred Sathyaraj in a double role akin to that of Shah Rukh’s father and son characters in Jawan. A user posted the poster of the 1989 film directed by R. Aravindraj and wrote in the caption, “Jawaan Original Tamil Version – 1989.” Many users have now gone on to comment that Jawan has been copied from the 1989 film. Some have expressed their disappointment with Jawan, saying it’s a mix of many South films, which lacks any originality.

Earlier plagiarism reports

This is not the first time that Atlee has been accused of plagiarism. The controversy had erupted around the release of Atlee’s 2019 film Bigil, after Telugu short-filmmaker Nandi Chinni Reddy has accused director Atlee of plagiarising the soul of his film, Slum Soccer. Atlee’s 2017 film with Thalapathy Vijay and Samantha Ruth Prabhu in lead roles also faced accusations for copying the story of Rajinikanth’s Moondru Mugam. Meanwhile, Atlee was again accused of copying Vijaykanth’s film Chatriyan during the release of his 2016 film Theri.

Jawan also stars Nayanthara, Vijay Sethupathi, Sanya Malhotra, Priyamani, Sunil Grover, and Ridhi Dogra, among others. It was released in cinemas in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu.

The Hindustan Times review of the film noted, “Jawan is an SRK show from start to end, and it’s double the treat watching him in a dual role. From his heroic entry scene to the fights to dance numbers, there’s nothing that he can’t do and makes you believe in it as well. At 57, turning 58 in November, SRK bowls you over with his action. Given the amount of action he has done in Jawan, it appears that Pathaan was a mere teaser. Atlee makes sure he doesn’t disappoint audiences in his Hindi directorial debut, as he blends all the elements of commercial cinema to build a massy entertainer.”