'There’s no copyright on an idea'

The title of Ramesh Aravind’s latest film, Preethi Inda Ramesh, may be the same as that of the TV show earlier hosted by him.
But fans may not be aware that Ramesh’s latest movie is a copy of a Hollywood flick, You’ve Got Mail, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Like the original, this film deals with two chat friends, who fall in love in cyberspace, but agree not to share phone numbers and addresses for a long time.Meanwhile, the lead actors of Preethi Inda..., Ramesh Aravind and Ramanitu Chaudhary, own book stores, both located across the road from each other. As in all rosy love stories, the rivals fall in love.
And namma Ramesh accepts that it’s been inspired by the Hollywood flick. “When director Guna Kumar narrated the story to me, I knew it was You’ve Got Mail. I never asked him about it nor did he declare it,” he says. “Even Satyavan Savithri, which I directed over two years ago, has been adapted from a Broadway play called Cactus Flower. Such situations can get really dicey, especially when I’m the director. So, I always mention the inspiration in the opening credits. Many people thought Satyavan... was a remake of Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya? But that wasn’t true,” explains Ramesh.
We hear that his recent Crazy Kutumba, too — not directed by him — was a rustic version of Little Miss Sunshine. “Crazy Kutumba was made along the lines of De Dhakka, a Marathi film inspired by Little Miss Sunshine. We bought the rights to De Dhakka before making Crazy Kutumba,” clarifies Ramesh. “Besides, there’s no copyright on an idea. And when we direct it to suit the Indian context with our songs and dance, a film changes completely,” says the actor.
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