AR Rahman charged with 2 crores in 'Ponniyin Selvan 2' copyright case

Indian music maestro AR Rahman and makers of historical epic ‘Ponniyin Selvan II’ have been ordered to deposit INR 2 crores with the court registry in the copyright case.

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As reported by Indian media, the Delhi High Court has charged AR Rahman and Madras Talkies, makers of the Tamil-language epic, with INR 2 crores in the ‘Ponniyin Selvan II’ copyright infringement case.

The ruling, delivered earlier this week, has directed the Oscar-winning musician and film production company to deposit the aforementioned amount with the court registry and has also asked them to pay INR 2 lac to the Dagar family in damages.

For the unversed, classical vocalist Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar filed the lawsuit back in 2023, alleging Rahman as well as the ‘Ponniyin Selvan II’ filmmakers of copyright infringement of ‘Shiva Stuti’, an original composition by Junior Dagar Brothers (his father, Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar, and uncle, Zahiruddin Dagar), for their song ‘Veera Raja Veera’.

Wasifuddin not only sought a permanent injunction to prevent the song’s use in future, but was also seeking damages and recognition of moral rights. He argued that the song’s taal, beat, and musical structure were copied from the Dagar brothers’ song, with different lyrics.

However, Rahman contended that ‘Veera Raja Veera’ was an original work, incorporating Western musical elements, with 227 distinct layers, whereas ‘Shiva Stuti’ is a traditional composition in the public domain within the Dhrupad genre of Hindustani classical music.

Presiding over the ongoing case, Justice Prathiba M Singh observed that ‘Veera Raja Veera’ was not only ‘inspired’ by but also ‘identical’ to the composition of ‘Shiva Stuti’.

Besides damages, he court’s interim order also directed the defendants to include due credit to the Dagar Brothers in the song across all online and OTT platforms.

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