On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court maintained the stay of an interim order against music composer AR Rahman and the makers of ‘Ponniyin Selvan 2.’ The case is over alleged copyright infringement related to the track ‘Veera Raja Veera’ featured in the film. The bench comprising Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Ajay Digpaul directed Rahman and the makers of the film to deposit 2 crores with its registry within 10 days, as directed by the single judge bench’s April 25 order.
Justice Prathiba M Singh passed an interim order on April 25 against AR Rahman. She ruled the case in favour of the Junior Dagar brothers. She noted that from a listener’s perspective, the core of Rahman’s song ‘Veera Raja Veera’ is not just inspiration. But is, in fact, identical in notes, emotion and aural impact to the ‘Shiva Stuti’. The judge ruled that the track violated the rights of the original composers of the musical tribute to Lord Shiva. Moreover, the court directed insertion of a slide in the film on all OTT and online platforms. This should give due credit to Junior Dagar Brothers. The brothers are- Late Ustad N. Faiyazuddin Dagar and Late Ustad Zahiruddin Dagar. Additionally, the court awarded Rs 2 lakh as costs to the family members of the late artists.
The court said, “In the ultimate analysis, therefore, this court holds that the impugned song is not merely based on or inspired from the suit composition Shiva Stuti. But is, in fact, identical to the suit composition with mere change in lyrics. The adding of other elements may have rendered the impugned song more like a modern composition, but the basic underlying musical work is identical. Hence, the defendant’s composition infringes the complainant’s rights in Shiva Stuti.”
On the other hand, the composer’s side argued that ‘Shiv Stuti’ is based on the traditional dhrupad genre. It is in the public domain. Moreover, the manner of singing and the composition itself were not original, rendering it incapable of copyright protection.
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