In 1985, Kumkumam, one of the most influential Malayalam literary magazines of the day, started serialising a horror novel titled Vijanaveedhi (The Deserted Street) by a first-time writer in his twenties. Published under the pen name Aswathi Thirunal, the novel became a sensation among the reading public. In June this year, when Vijanaveedhi was republished as a paperback after a gap of 35 years, it reignited controversy over its similarities to director Fazil’s classic movie Manichitrathazhu (1993). Some cultural critics and public personalities have accused Fazil and the movie’s scriptwriter Madhu Muttam of copying the novel’s plot, while others have said that the movie seems to be inspired by the novel. Fazil has denied the allegations.
The central idea of Manichitrathazhu is a female protagonist suffering from multiple personality disorder, whose hidden personality identifies with an oppressed female character from history. This hidden personality takes over Ganga’s (Shobana) consciousness without her awareness, bringing about a total transformation where she changes into the historical persona.
The extremely popular movie has inspired franchises in five languages – Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu and Bengali – with remakes, sequels and spinoffs together generating more than an estimated Rs 500 crore since 2004. The Hindi remake Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), which starred Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan, was also a big hit, and its sequel Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, which released in May this year, has become the second highest grossing Hindi film of the year. This has prompted the announcement of a sequel to Chandramukhi, the Tamil remake of Manichitrathazhu, which starred Rajinikanth.
But was Manichitrathazhu’s story idea copied from the horror novel written more than 35 years ago?
In the novel, the heroine, Gowri, identifies with the historical character Subadhra from early 18th century Travancore history. While Nagavalli in Manichitrathazhu is a victim of the feudal lord Shankaran Thampi, in the novel Subadhra is pursued by the feudal chieftain Kudaman Pillai. Kudaman Pillai is a historical figure who led the Nair aristocracy in rebellion against Marthanda Varma, the king of Travancore. In Manichitrathazhu, the strange events that occur as the heroine’s hidden personality manifests itself is first investigated by an eccentric psychiatrist, who is assisted towards the end by a tantrik. In the novel, the seemingly supernatural events are first investigated by an eccentric psychiatrist named Vijayanand, while towards the end he is assisted by a sanyasi called Swami Sathyachittan.
In 1987, Nagakrishna Publications published the serialised story of Vijanaveedhi as a novel. Unlike its serialised form, the book did not do well and is estimated to have sold only a few hundred copies. Soon, Aswathi Thirunal took sanyas and became Swami Aswathi Thirunal, and both the novel and its writer faded into obscurity.
Usha S Nair, a film critic and former columnist for the Malayalam weekly Kalakaumudi, read Vijanaveedhi decades ago when it appeared in Kumkumam magazine. Now, having read the republished book, she told TNM, “Vijanaveedhi is an extraordinary novel. When I read the book this time, I actually underlined the portions that have been lifted. The same characters have been taken and presented in Manichitrathazhu in different guises. Subhadra is Nagavalli. The psychiatrist Vijayanand who is depicted as a quirky character in the novel is shown as Dr Sunny and Swami Sathyachittan becomes the tantrik. There are several scenes in the movie that are also lifted from the novel.”
Usha points to the scene in Manichitrathazhu when Alli, Ganga’s cousin-in-law, goes alone to the haunted upper storey of the mansion. There she is chased by an unseen presence through the dark rooms and corridors. Finally, she is locked by the unseen presence in a small room where she falls unconscious and is rescued by the psychiatrist Sunny (Mohanlal). In the novel, the heroine Gowri is chased through the dark passageways and corridors of the Padmanabhapuram Palace, an ancient palace of the kings of Travancore, by an unseen menacing presence. She is attacked violently and is found unconscious but alive by her family.
Suresh Thomas, a Malayalam novelist and journalist, said, “The controversy over the similarities did not become a real debate earlier because the novel was not available and people could not compare the two. That is what has changed now with the novel being republished.”
Sajjid Lateef, an English lecturer at MES college in Malappuram and a researcher in adaptation studies, wrote an article comparing the movie and the book. He believes that the similarities are accidental and that those who read the book first are projecting it onto the movie because of the similarity in theme.
Speaking to TNM, he said, “The theme of split personality was not familiar to Malayalis. The fact is that Vijanaveedhi has a lot of fans who love the book. So, when they saw the movie, the thematic similarities created a strong impression in their minds that the movie is copied from the book. While Manichitrathazhu follows the haunted mansion format, Vijanaveedhi is a very rare combination of the sub-genres of horror, psychological thriller, crime investigation, the supernatural and the historical.”
Best-selling Malayalam crime novelist Sreeparvathy says she read Vijanaveedhi for the first time in the republished edition. “The basic story is the same. We feel it when we read it and encounter the characters and various situations. For example, when we read about the changes in Gowri’s facial expression when her consciousness momentarily transforms into Subadhra’s, it is exactly how Ganga’s transformation into Nagavalli is depicted by Shobana in the movie.”
Documentary maker and film critic Madhu Eravankara who also read the novel after seeing the movie said, “The scriptwriter and director are either making false statements or intentionally closing their eyes. The film is a clear case of absolute plagiarism.”
Another similarity between Manichitrathazhu and the book that many have pointed out occurs in a scene where Dr Sunny explains to Ganga’s husband the nature of her disease. While describing multiple personality disorder, which is now known as dissociative identity disorder, he said, “You know how we read in the papers about such incidents. An 11-year-old Muslim girl starts acting and speaking like a 71-year-old Varasyar (a Brahmin sub-caste) and starts reciting Sanskrit shlokas and so on. Old people call this spirit possession.”
In Vijanaveedhi (the original 1987 edition), when the psychiatrist explains the nature of split personality to Gowri’s fiancé, he gives a strikingly similar example. That of a 12-year-old Brahmin girl who speaks in Punjabi and acts like a Sikh man. She recites from the Guru Granth Sahib and is taken for the reincarnation of a Sikh guru. Fazil said this was a coincidence and that he read the incident described in Manichitrathazhu in a newspaper report.
Denying the allegations strenuously, Fazil told TNM, “I have never even heard of the book Vijanaveedhi. Why do you people keep asking this? The concept of split personality has been shown many times in movies, starting from Hitchcock’s Psycho. Does that mean Manichitrathazhu is stolen from all these movies? If I’m given the original edition of the book, I’m willing to read it. Similarities in the republished edition do not mean anything as changes could have been added to the original.”
Similarly, Madhu Muttam, who wrote the story for Manichitrathazhu, said, “Vijanaveedhi is not relevant to Manichitrathazhu. People can say all sorts of things. That doesn’t make it relevant. I have nothing more to comment.”
Swami Aswathi Thirunal, who is now a well-known public figure in Thiruvananthapuram and heads the Ekalavya Ashram, said, “Since Manichitrathazhu released, many people have told me that there are great similarities between Vijanaveedhi and the movie. I did not watch movies for a very long time. When I watched Manichitrathazhu a few years ago, I too felt that the essence of both the stories is the same.”
Govind Krishnan V is an independent journalist who has previously worked for Fountain Ink, The Sunday Guardian and The New Indian Express.
Views expressed are the author’s own.