Ilaiyaraaja Slaps Rs 5 Crore Legal Notice On Ajith's 'Good Bad Ugly' Makers (Image-X/Adhikravi)
Veteran composer Ilaiyaraaja, known for composing classic songs for over decades, is also known for making copyright strikes over unauthorised use of his compositions. Good Bad Ugly, the recent action thriller by Ajith Kumar, has now become the latest victim. Here is all you need to know about the legal conflict.
Director Adhik Ravichandran’s Good Bad Ugly was a completely packed nostalgic treat for his fans. The film also stars Arjun Das, Trisha, Karthikeya Dev, Jackie Shroff, Prasanna, Prabhu, and others. To elevate the storyline and the nostalgic references, the makers have used several retro hits of the 90s.
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Even though the chords of the nostalgic references strike right to the audience, Ilaiyaraaja has now identified the unauthorised use of his composition in the film and has filed an issued legal notice to the makers.
Ilaiyaraaja’s songs used in GBU
The film, which was sculpted with a sea of references, with classics like “Otha Roobaiyum Thaarein” from Naatupura Paattu, “En Jodi Manjal Kuruvi” from Vikram, and “Ilamai Itho Idho” from Sakala Kala Vallavan, to spread the essence of nostalgia to the audience.
Ilaiyaraaja demands apology
All these tracks were originally composed by the ace musician Ilaiyaraaja in the 90s. Now, the musician has claimed that his rights were violated. Issuing a legal notice, the composer demanded a compensation of Rs 5 crore from the Good Bad Ugly’s production team, Mythiri Movie Makers, for using the tracks without proper permission.
He also demanded a written apology from the Good Bad Ugly team within seven days of accepting the terms of the complaint. It doesn’t stop there. He further requested that the songs be removed from the film immediately.
Additionally, he has objected to the remixing or rearranging of his original works, which, he claims, alters the essence of his compositions.
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Ilaiyaraaja’s Copyright Strikes
It’s not the first time that the ace musician is making headlines for his copyright claims. In 2024 the Guna music composer filed a copyright strike against the makers of the Malayalam film Manjummel Boys. After months of clashes between both parties, the dispute was eventually settled for Rs 60 lakhs as the result of intense negotiations.
In 2024, the music maestro also sent a legal notice to the makers of Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Coolie for the unauthorised use of “Vaa Vaa Pakkam Vaa” from the 1983 film Thanga Magan in their announcement video.
