PETALING JAYA, Feb 18 — Tamil film producer PL Thennapan has accused the creators of critically-acclaimed South Korean film Parasite of plagiarising his 1999 rom-com Minsara Kanna.

In an interview with India Today, Thennapan claimed that the Oscar-winning film’s storyline bore an uncanny resemblance to the plot of Minsara Kanna, which tells the tale of a wealthy man who masquerades as a bodyguard to infiltrate the home of his beloved.

"I saw the South Korean film Parasite and I feel that they have stolen the film's crux from Minsara Kanna.

"I'm in talks with international lawyers and contemplating on filing a case against the makers of Parasite soon,” said Thennapan.

Meanwhile, Minsara Kanna’s director KS Ravikumar acknowledged the films’ similarities but did not share his producer’s wishes to pursue a legal case against Parasite’s director Bong Joon-ho, who also co-wrote the screenplay.

"I'm happy that (Parasite) has received an Oscar, even if it (Minsara Kanna) served as an inspiration. However, filing a case is up to the producer,” he was quoted as saying.

Reactions on social media to the plagiarism accusations were mixed, with some siding with Thennapan and others saying that the two films share "ideologies” but not entire storylines.

Parasite, a genre-bending tale of class warfare, took Hollywood by storm earlier this month when it swept up four Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film.