Indian filmmaker sues Netflix for alleged plot theft in ‘Squid Game’

In 2009, Soham Shah directed the film "Luck", which performed poorly at the box office. Recently, the director has filed a lawsuit against Netflix, accusing them of allegedly copying the plot of his movie for their hit web-series "Squid Game".

"Luck" follows the story of a group of financially struggling and desperate individuals who are lured into participating in a series of competitive games, offering them the opportunity to win substantial amounts of money.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, Netflix has refuted the accusations. A Netflix spokesperson stated, "This claim is baseless. 'Squid Game' was created and written by Hwang Dong Hyuk, and we plan to defend this case strongly".

In the lawsuit, Shah stated that, "The main plot, characters, themes, mood, setting, and sequence of events in 'Squid Game' are remarkably similar to those in 'Luck,' making it highly unlikely that these resemblances are coincidental." 

Shah has also reportedly filed a lawsuit against "Squid Game" creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, alleging that Hwang claimed to have written his version of the story in 2009, the same year "Luck" was released worldwide. Shah further mentioned that he originally wrote the story in 2006, with the film premiering globally in 2009. 

Shah is seeking unspecified compensation and a court order to stop Netflix from violating his copyrights by promoting and streaming "Squid Game", earning profits from related merchandise, and creating future shows or works that may infringe on his copyrights.

"Squid Game" made history in 2022 as the first non-English drama to win major awards at the Emmys. It became Netflix's most successful launch, with a production cost of US $21 million, and viewers streamed 1.65 billion hours of the show within four weeks. 

Read more

Another round of Squid Game? Netflix says yes

The series stayed among Netflix's top shows for months, and in July, the platform announced that the second season will debut on December 26, with a third and final season set for release in 2025.