Renowned filmmaker Sanal Kumar Sasidharan has alleged that the Mohanlal-Shobana film Thudarum, directed by Tharun Moorthy, is based on the "skeleton" of his 2020 script Theeyattam. In a social media post, Sanal claimed the film copies his storyline involving an auto-rickshaw driver framed for a murder inside his vehicle. He plans to release the full Theeyattam script online to let the public compare both works.

He noted that even a specific line from his screenplay—“Konnaal paapam thinnaal theerum” (meaning "the sin of killing is absolved on eating")—appears in Thudarum, despite being contextually irrelevant in the film. According to him, this inclusion may have been an unintentional oversight, revealing the script’s origin.

Sanal stated that discussions about Theeyattam had taken place with Century Films and that actors such as Manju Warrier and Tovino Thomas had read the script. Though the project never materialized, he believes the resemblance is too close to ignore. Produced by Rejaputhra Visual Media, Thudarum was a major box office success, but this controversy now casts a shadow over its originality. Sanal’s move to publish his script seeks to bring transparency and stir a public conversation about creative ownership.