Does Mohanlal’s film ‘Neru’ bear an uncanny resemblance to the Hollywood film ‘Sketch Artist II’?

It is not uncommon for films to draw inspiration from others, and this is often a common practice that sometimes toes the line between influence and imitation. Mohanlal’s film ‘Neru’, directed by Jeethu Joseph, is now in the spotlight as it faces allegations that it resembles the Hollywood film ‘Sketch Artist II: Hands That See’ starring Courteney Cox.

In Sketch Artist II, the plot revolves around a serial rapist who rescues a blind victim, Amy, who later teams up with a police sketch artist. Interestingly, ‘Neru’ follows a similar path, featuring Anaswara Rajan as a blind sculptor who uses her keen sense of touch to get justice. The similarity between the two films did not go unnoticed by attentive Internet users.

This is not the first time that Jeethu Joseph’s work has raised eyebrows by taking inspiration from elsewhere. His blockbuster film ‘Drishyam’ is expected to be influenced by the novel ‘The Devotion of Suspect X’, though there is no official confirmation from the makers. The frequency of such cases raises the question of whether these are mere coincidences or indicative of a deliberate pattern, leaving the public to make its own judgements.