Kantara plagiarism row: Court orders the maker to stop playing ‘Varaha Roopam’ song in theatres

The makers of Kantara have been ordered by the court to stop playing the song Varaha Roopam in theatres after the band Thaikkudam Bridge complained.

After receiving a complaint of plagiarism from the Kerala-based music group Thaikudam Bridge, the Kozhikode Sessions Court imposed an order prohibiting the Kantara creators from playing the song ‘Varaha Roopam’ in theatres and other streaming services. The well-known independent music group previously announced on social media that they were suing Kantara for allegedly stealing their 2015 song ‘Navarasam’ and using it in the film.

The band took to their social media handle and shared the update. The post read, “The Principal District and Sessions Judge, Kozhikode has injuncted the producer, director, music composer, Amazon, YouTube, Spotify, Wynk Music, Jiosavan, and others from playing the song Varaaha Roopam in the film Kantara without the permission of Thaikudam Bridge (sic).”

Earlier, the band had issued a statement which read, “We would like our listeners to know that Thaikkudam Bridge is in no way or form affiliated with Kantara. The unavoidable similarities between our IP ‘Navarasam’ and ‘Varaha Roopam’ in terms of audio is therefore a blatant infringement of copyright laws. From our standpoint the line between ‘Inspired’ and ‘Plagiarized’ is distinct and indisputable and therefore we will be seeking legal action against the creative team responsible for this. There has been no acknowledgement of our rights over the content and the song is propagated as an Original piece of work by the movie’s creative team. We request the support of our listeners and encourage you to spread the word about the same. Also request our fellow artistes to share and raise your views protecting music copyright.”

It is worth mentioning that the creators of the Rishab Shetty starrer are tight-lipped and did not issue any official statement regarding the imposition, as of now.

Talking about the Kannada-language film, it has managed to garner a positive response from the audience as well as the critics. Released on September 30, the film continues to stand strong at the box office.