The song "Veera raja Veera" from ponniyin selvan 2, a historical drama directed by the renowned tamil director mani ratnam, was a huge hit on the charts. The iconic song, written by the brilliant AR Rahman, helped the innovative filmmaker depict Ponniyin Selvan's bravery on screen.
 
However, the song itself has now put mani ratnam and AR rahman in hot water with the law.  In a suit alleging copyright infringement brought by well-known Dhrupad vocalist padma shri Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar, the delhi High court on friday issued an interim judgment compelling AR rahman and the film's production companies, madras Talkies and Lyca Productions, to pay Rs 2 crore. Additionally, the court ordered PS2 developers to give the junior Dagar Brothers credit for the song's creation on all internet platforms.

The delhi High court determined that the song "Veera raja Veera" is musically "identical" to shiva Stuti, a devotional composition and performance by the late Ustad Nasir Faiyazuddin and Ustad Nasir Zahiruddin Dagar, also known as the junior Dagar Brothers, who recorded it for the Holland festival in 1978 at the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam.
 
Wasifuddin, the son and legal heir of Ustad Nasir Faiyazuddin, filed a copyright lawsuit in 2023, claiming that the Dagar brothers' rendition of the song "Veera raja Veera" and AR Rahman's rendition of it shared a similar musical foundation. He claimed that the song "Veera raja Veera" had been utilized without authorization or acknowledgment and was entirely plagiarized.  

Wasifuddin's claims, however, were rejected by the attorneys for Mani Ratnam's production company, madras Talkies, who said they were fabricated and made the accusations "for monetary gains & publicity."  "Veera raja Veera" is a "traditional composition created by Narayana Panditacharyain in the 13th century," according to the attorneys for rahman and madras Talkies.  The song's originality within the dhrupad style was also reaffirmed.
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AR Rahman

G GOWTHAM

28/04/2025 12:42 PM