Movie on Jeevajothi Santhakumar, her battle against ‘Saravana Bhavan’ founder P Rajagopal in works

By ANI

MUMBAI: Popular production house, Junglee Pictures, has acquired the rights to make a film on a woman named, Jeevajothi Santhakumar and her battle against hotelier P Rajagopal, an accused in a 2001 murder case.

The makers have taken the life rights in all languages of Jeevajothi Santhakumar, for literary and audio-video content.

Excited to share her story with the world, Jeevajothi said, “I am overwhelmed and elated by Junglee Pictures’ decision to make a feature film about my legal and emotional battle with this affluent hotelier, a struggle that went on for 18 years. I am confident that seeing this story on the big screen will bring about a drastic change in the status quo of patriarchy.”

As per several reports, Rajagopal, who was the founder of Saravana Bhavan, a popular South Indian food chain, wanted to marry Jeevajothi, the daughter of one of his employees at his restaurant.

As Jeevajothi was already married, Rajagopal hatched a criminal conspiracy to eliminate her husband, Prince Santhakumar. And in 2001, Prince Santhakumar was murdered and his body was found in Kodaikanal city of Karnataka.

A sessions court had convicted Rajagopal and four others to ten years of imprisonment, but later the Madras High Court set aside the sessions court’s order and increased the jail term to life sentence.

In July 2019, Rajagopal passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Renowned screenwriter Bhavani Iyer has been roped in to pen the story of the film.

“Jeevajothi fought a long battle against an incredibly powerful person and has survived to tell the tale. The fact that she has made something special out of her life is a testament to what she is truly made of, and an inspiration to me as a woman first, then as a writer,” Bhavani said.

“So in our story, one character is a true survivor, while the other is a classic example of what power and delusion can lead to. Writing this is a fabulous challenge and I am so excited to get started,” Bhavani added.

Details related to the film’s cast have not been revealed yet.