Ilaiyaraaja sends legal notice to makers of Ajith Kumar’s ‘Good Bad Ugly’ over ‘unauthorised’ use of songs

Ilaiyaraaja; a still from ‘Good Bad Ugly’
| Photo Credit: Ragu R/The Hindu and Special Arrangement

Veteran music composer Ilaiyaraaja on Tuesday (April 15) sent a legal notice to Mythri Movie Makers, the producers of Ajith Kumar’s Good Bad Ugly, alleging they used his songs in the Adhik Ravichandran-directorial without permission or due authorisation. The composer has demanded removal of the songs from the film and Rs. 5 crores as compensation.

Good Bad Ugly, which was released in theatres on Thursday last week, featured several yesteryear songs, including three of Ilaiyaraaja’s compositions — ‘Ilamai Idho Idho’ from 1982’s Sakalakala Vallavan, ‘En Jodi Manja Kuruvi’ from 1986’s Vikram, and ‘Oththa Roova’ from 1996’s Nattupura Pattu.

The notice sent to producers Naveen Yerneni and Y Ravi Shankar of Mythri Movie Makers stated that the three songs have been “used, altered, and commercially exploited” in the film, “without obtaining express consent/permission of our Client and/or his authorisation, and without payment of royalties that he is statutorily entitled to.”

“Such actions constitute unauthorised use, appropriation and a clear infringement of our Client’s copyright and moral rights. You may also please take note that he has never accorded any permission or consent, either express or implied, for using/altering/distorting/changing the form of the musical work that has been used in the cinematograph,” it further read.

Apart from the Rs. 5-crore compensation and removal of the songs from the film, the notice also demanded a written apology and a “detailed account of revenue earned from the commercial exploitation of the said works.”

This isn’t the first time the composer took the legal route over the unauthorised use of his songs. Earlier, he had issued a legal notice to Sun Pictures over the allegedly illegal use of a song from his 1983 film Thanga Magan in their upcoming Rajinikanth-starrer Coolie. He had also issued a legal notice to the producers of the Malayalam movie Manjummel Boys for “unlawfully exploiting” the song ‘Kanmani Anbodu,’ from the Tamil movie Guna, in their movie.

The composer has been fighting a long ongoing copyright case demanding “special moral rights” over the 4,500 songs he composed for more than 1,000 between the 1970s and 1990s.

Meanwhile, Good Bad Ugly has minted more than Rs. 150 crores worldwide. The film stars Trisha as the female lead, in a consecutive pairing with Ajith after Vidaamuyarchi. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Arjun Das, Prabhu, Sunil, Prasanna, Raghu Ram, Redin Kingsley, Priya Prakash Varrier, Jackie Shroff, Yogi Babu and Shine Tom Chacko.

The film’s music is composed by GV Prakash. Abinandhan Ramanujam served as the cinematographer, while Vijay Velukutty served as the editor.

The Hindu’s review of Good Bad Uglycalled the film “a loving work of nostalgia” and as a “new benchmark in fan service.”