Director Venkat Prabhu who had watched Vijay's Mersal took to his Twitter space to share his thoughts about it. Apart from praising Vijay and calling it a festive treat, Venkat Prabhu also sarcastically commented Mersal as an adaptation and wanted the team to credit veteran writer Panchu Arunachalam for the story.

"#Thalabathy all da way! #mersal a festival treat!Awesomely adapted and presented by Atlee!! Whatta production value!! #panjusaar ku credit?!"

When it comes to triple hero subject, a father and two sons kind of script, Apoorva Sagodharargal, written by Panchu Arunachalam stands as a benchmark and reference point till date. Is Venkat Prabhu saying Mersal is an adaptation of Apoorva Sagodharargal or any other film of Panju?