Is Ram’s ‘iSmart Shankar’ heavily inspired by Adam Randall’s 2017 thriller ‘iBoy’?

Right from the first look posters to the video promos, Ram Pothineni’s ‘iSmart Shankar’ managed to hit the bull’s eye in all aspects. Besides the action-packed trailer and drool-worthy postures of both the leading ladies, all the lyrical clips in this Mani Sharma musical have been entertaining the viewers’ big time. Especially, Dimaak Kharaab and Undipo have already turned out to become chartbusters.
Directed by maverick filmmaker Puri Jagannadh and co-produced by actress Charmee Kaur, the plot of ‘iSmart Shankar’ revolves around an aggressive street-smart guy in Hyderabad who gets a mobile SIM card inserted into his head under mysterious circumstances.
Meanwhile, speculations are rife that Puri acquired the SIM idea from a British science-fiction thriller titled ‘iBoy’. The Adam Randall directorial which is based on Kevin Brooks’ book by the same name tells the story of a teenager who wakes from coma only to discover that fragments from his broken smartphone have been embedded into his brain and turned him into an actualized app with superhuman powers.
Meanwhile, it is not yet clear whether Puri & Charmee have bought the remake rights of ‘iBoy’ or they have gone ahead as a freemake. However, nothing can be officially claimed till ‘iSmart Shankar’ hits the theaters on July 18.