Seems like 'Minnal Murali Universe' is not going to take off soon. Justin Mathew and Arun Anirudhan, the co-writers of the 2021 Malayalam superhero flick featuring Tovino Thomas in the titular role, moved the court seeking a ban on the unauthorized use of the characters that featured in the movie.
A court ruled in favour of the duo, ordering that the movie's copyright should not be violated until further notice. The order was particularly directed at Weeked Blockbusters -- the production house behind the upcoming Dhyan Sreenivasan-starred 'Detective Ujjwalan.'
Sophia Paul of the Weekend Blockbusters had earlier announced her intention to build a 'Minnal Murali Universe' in Mollywood featuring charecters and places mentioned in the superhero flick. According to reports, 'Detective Ujjwalan' was supposed to be the first movie from the universe. The teaser of the movie, which dropped on September 3, had hinted at the plot revolving around the imaginative village of Kurukkan Moola -- the native of Tovino's Jaison a.k.a Minnal Murali.
The court directed Weeked Blockbusters, Amar Chitra Katha, Netflix India and directors of 'Detective Ujjwalan' Rahul G and Indraneel Gopeekrishnan that they shouldn't use charecters centre to 'Minnal Murali' until further notice.
While Basil Joseph directorial 'Minnal Murali' was released via Netflix during the pandemic, Amar Chitra Katha, in 2024 released the graphic novel 'Minnal Murali Strikes Again' based on the Malayalam movie.
The development has put the makers of 'Detective Ujjwalan' in a spot.
