Madras HC upholds ban on Ilaiyaraaja songs in 'Good Bad Ugly'

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has dismissed a petition filed by Mythri Movie Makers seeking to vacate the interim injunction that barred the use of music composer Ilaiyaraaja’s songs in the upcoming Tamil film Good Bad Ugly, starring Ajith Kumar.

The dispute arose after Ilaiyaraaja accused the filmmakers of using three of his iconic tracks — Ilamai Itho Itho, Otha Rooba Tharen, and En Jodi Manja Kuruvi — without obtaining his permission.

Acting on the composer’s plea, the court had earlier issued an interim order restraining the production house from incorporating the songs in the film.

In their petition to lift the injunction, Mythri Movie Makers argued that they had lawfully acquired the rights to the songs from Sony and had subsequently removed the tracks from the film.

Appearing before Justice N Senthilkumar, the production house contended that the original producers held comprehensive rights and that Ilaiyaraaja, if asserting ownership, must substantiate his claim.

Ilaiyaraaja’s counsel countered that under copyright law, the composer retains exclusive rights to his musical works, irrespective of the producer’s ownership of the film.

The counsel emphasised that producers may control the completed film but cannot independently extract, modify, or commercially exploit the songs without the composer’s explicit consent, and went on to allege that the tracks used in Good Bad Ugly had been altered.

After reviewing submissions from both sides, Justice Senthilkumar upheld the interim injunction, observing that Ilaiyaraaja retains the right to prevent unauthorised use or modification of his compositions. The court found no grounds to interfere with the existing order and consequently dismissed Mythri Movie Makers’ plea.

The main copyright infringement case has been scheduled for further hearing on January 6, next year.