National award-winning music director Ilaiyaraaja has been fighting a case with multiple music labels about the copyrights to his music. And this has often created issues with not just the composer and the labels, but also with other filmmakers who are reusing Ilaiyaraaja’s hit vintage numbers in their films. The latest such film to use Ilaiyaraaja’s music to elevate their scenes is Adhik Ravichandran’s Good Bad Ugly. Starring Ajith Kumar and Trisha in the lead roles, the film is backed by Naveen Yerneni and Yalamanchili Ravi Shankar’s Mythri Movie Makers. And it is to the production house that Ilaiyaraaja’s legal team has sent a notice for the unauthorised usage of his music.
Notably, Good Bad Ugly, which has music by GV Prakash Kumar, liberally used Ilaiyaraaja songs like Oththa Roova from Nattupura Pattu, Ilamai Idho Idho from Sakalakala Vallavan and En Jodi Manja Kuruvi from the original 1986 Kamal Haasan film, Vikram. There were also other songs that were used in the film that were originally composed by Deva, Vidyasagar, and Anirudh Ravichander. Interestingly, these composers, unlike Ilaiyaraaja, are connected to various royalty societies that, in connection with the music labels, govern the reusing and repurposing of the songs, and pay the composers a percentage of the royalty.
However, Ilaiyaraaja has been fighting in the courts to make the composers hold the rights for their music, and in a four-page notice to the makers of Good Bad Ugly, his team pointed out that the songs have have been “used, altered, and commercially exploited” without getting prior permission or payment of royalties to Ilaiyaraaja.
The notice also proclaimed that this is in violation of the Section 51 of the Copyright Act and have demanded Mythri Movie Makers to pay Rs Rs 5 crore for the royalties and legal fees, and tender an unconditional written apology for the unauthorised use of his work.
With Good Bad Ugly on the way to becoming Ajith’s biggest success, the team has been urged by Ilaiyaraaja’s legal team to stop using their client’s music in the film, and the altered versions of the same, which are available across various streaming platforms. They have made it clear that the failure to adhere to these guidelines will result in necessary legal ramifications that will follow.
This isn’t the first time Ilaiyaraaja is sending legal notices to filmmakers for the usage of his songs. However, since there is a legal dispute happening between him and the music labels who are owning the copyrights to his songs, he is also bound to file these cases to ensure his stance is cemented, and gives him the legal precedence to continue his fight for his rights.
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Nevertheless, the makers, who have obtained the No Objection Certificate from the music labels for the usage of all the songs in Good Bad Ugly, haven’t responded to the notice sent by Ilaiyaraaja.
