6 months ago
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The Madras High Court, connected Wednesday (November 26, 2025), reserved orders connected a plea by acclaimed instrumentalist R. Ilaiyarajaa to restrain Hyderabad-based Mythri Movie Makers, the producers of Tamil movie Dude from continuing to grounds the movie, successful immoderate mean including OTT platform, on with the songs ‘Nooru Varusham’ and ‘Karutha Machan’ that were composed by him for different movies successful the past.
Justice N. Senthilkumar deferred his orders connected the interim injunction exertion pursuant to a civilian suit filed by the composer seeking a imperishable injunction and a mandatory injunction directing the accumulation location to instantly instrumentality down each unauthorised contented related to the plaintiff’s copyright works and besides disclose the profits derived truthful acold by wrongful exploitation of the 2 songs successful the movie Dude.
Senior counsel S. Prabakaran, representing the composer, argued that the responsive Mythri Movie Makers was successful the wont of utilizing the songs composed by the plaintiff successful its movies without seeking his permission. He said, the aforesaid accumulation location had used 4 of his client’s songs successful Ajith Kumar-starrer Good Bad Ugly (GBU) forcing his lawsuit to get an interim injunction against that movie.
He said, the aforesaid accumulation location had erstwhile again utilized 2 different songs of Mr. Ilaiyaraaja successful its latest movie Dude starring Pradeep Ranganathan and Mamitha Baiju. Intervening during the arguments, the judge, successful a lighter vein, said, the latest inclination among movie makers appeared to beryllium the usage of aged songs successful their caller movies and specified a inclination was giving emergence to claims of copyright violations.
‘Does it not springiness popularity?‘
“When your aged songs get utilized successful a caller version, is it not popularity that you get for your songs?” the justice asked Mr. Prabakaran who replied that the occupation was with mutilation of the songs composed by his client. He insisted connected an interim injunction since the movie ‘Dude’ had completed its tally successful cinema theatres but was inactive being telecast connected the OTT level on with his client’s songs.
On the different hand, erstwhile elder counsel P.V. Balasubramaniam, representing Mythri Movie Makers which had filed a caveat, commenced his arguments, the justice asked: “Why are you continuously infringing plaintiff’s copyrights arsenic claimed by him?” Replying to it, the elder counsel said, his lawsuit had obtained the rights from Sony Music which was present holding the copyright for some the songs.
Stating that Mr. Ilaiyarajaa had composed those 2 songs earlier definite amendments were made to the Copyright Act of 1957, helium said, arsenic per the pre-amended provisions, the archetypal proprietor of the copyright was lone the shaper of the movies for which Mr. Ilaiyaraaja had composed the 2 songs Nooru Varusham and Karutha Machan and those producers had sold the rights to Sony Music.
When a counsel for Sony Music attempted to marque his submissions, the justice said, helium could not perceive him since the euphony statement was not a enactment to the suit. “It would not beryllium due to perceive you erstwhile you are not a enactment to the case,” the justice told the counsel.
