Vijay's 'Kaththi' First Look Motion Poster a Copy or Inspired by a Commercial?

The first look motion poster of Vijay's "Kaththi," released on the actor's birthday on 22 June, bears a close resemblance to a New York Times – Sabah newspaper commercial advertisement that was released three years ago.

"Kaththi" motion poster shows important landmarks of Chennai in the form of newspaper articles similar to the original New York Times video which shows iconic images of the New York City and Istanbul made of newspaper clippings. The advertisement was part of a campaign run by the Turkish newspaper to announce that they would distribute the Turkish version of New York Times as a supplement. The comparisons between the two videos have gone viral on the Internet.

Besides the motion poster, one of the first looks of "Kaththi" seems to have some resemblance to a Hollywood film poster. The poster with a black and white background looks similar to the poster of French-American action thriller film "3 Days to Kill."

This is not the first time that Vijay-Murugadoss's film posters have faced the heat for being a rip off Hollywood film posters. One of the posters of the 2012-blockbuster flick "Thuppakki" had Vijay carrying Kajal Aggarwal in army uniform, while she was wearing his cap. The poster looked very similar to Richard Gere's "An Officer and a Gentleman." A dialogue from the film, where Vijay converses for the first time with Vidjut Jamwal, was apparently inspired from Hollywood film "Taken."

Despite the claims by the Twitterverse, "Kaththi" first looks and the motion poster has received overwhelming response from fans. The official motion poster, with exclusive theme music by composer Anirudh, has fetched more than half a million hits on the video sharing site YouTube. The digital poster is fast approaching the 1 million mark and is expected to achieve the feat soon. The positive response from fans has raised the expectations surrounding the film.

"Kaththi," touted to be an action entertainer, is one of the most-anticipated films of 2014. The film reportedly has Vijay in dual roles, while Samantha, Sathish and Bollywood actor Neil Nitin Mukhesh are also part of the cast. The film's shooting is going on in full swing and is expected to be wrapped by August. It is not yet known as to when the film's audio and trailer launch will take place.

Produced by Lyca Productions and Ayngaran International, "Kaththi" is slated to hit the screens for Diwali in October 2014.