New Delhi, India

Indian filmmaker Soham Shah has sued Netflix for its popular Korean show Squid Game. He has accused the streaming giant of copying his 2009 Luck. 

Advertisment

Shah has filed a federal lawsuit against Netflix in New York, alleging that the Korean show is a ''blatant rip-off'' of his Hindi language film. 

Squid Game is a copy of the Indian film Luck?

In the lawsuit, Shah has claimed that there are striking similarities between his movie Luck and the Netflix show. 

Advertisment

In a suit, Shah said, ''The main plot, characters, themes, mood, setting and sequence of events of Squid Game are strikingly similar to that of Luck, defying any likelihood that such similarities could be coincidence.''

The 2009 movie Luck tells the story of a “group of desperate, indebted people enticed to take part in a series of competitive games to win large sums of money” who later learn that losing the contests means death.

Shah has also sued Squid Game writer Hwang Dong-hyuk, for claiming that he had written his version of the story in 2009, the year when Luck was released in theatres worldwide. 

Advertisment

Shah also claimed that he wrote the story of the movie in or around 2006 and his film came out in the theatres globally in 2009. 

Netflix reacts to Shah's claim

A Netflix spokesperson said in a statement that they will defend this ''matter vigorously.''

“This claim has no merit,” a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement. “Squid Game was created by and written by Hwang Dong Hyuk and we intend to defend this matter vigorously.”

The lawsuit also mentions the significant rise of over $900 million in Netflix’s market value after the release of the show. Shah is seeking compensation from the giant. 

Shah has filed the lawsuit when the second season of the show is set to release on December 26 on the streaming giant.