Ilaiyaraaja issues notice to makers of 'Manjummel Boys' for unauthorised use of 'Gunaa' song
Chennai, May 23: Malayalam 'Manjummel Boys' is the latest to receive a legal notice by legendary music director Ilaiyaraaja for unauthorised use of his hit song, 'Kanmani Anbodu' from the film 'Gunaa'.
A sleeper hit, 'Manjummel Boys', produced by Soubin and Babu Shahir, and Shawn Anthony under Parava Films, is based on a true incident that occurred in the 'Guna' caves in Kodaikanal in 2006. It has been received exceptionally well in Tamil Nadu, as well as globally.
Originally called The Devil's Kitchen, the caves were notorious for many accidents that led to the disappearance of people with no trace. After the release of 'Gunaa', the Tamil film featuring Kamal Haasan in 1991, which was shot there, the caves were referred to as Guna caves and became more popular among tourists.
'Manjummel Boys' traces the story of one such bunch of inebriated tourists from Kochi, fans of the film ‘Gunaa'. Their holiday turns nightmarish when one of the boys falls into the cave. The film ends with the song, 'Kanmani Anbodu', in what is referred to by many as a tribute to the cult status of the song and the film.
Whether it is a tribute or not, when a song by someone is used in another film, it has to follow legal procedures and permission must be sought," said Illaiyaraaja's legal counsel Saravanan Annadurai to PTI.
The notice stated that "it is a settled position of law that where a person is using such original musical works for commercial benefit, exploitation and other business gains, such person is legally obliged and bound to acquire necessary and appropriate permission/license from the author/owner…"
"In this case, the owner of the song is Ilaiyaraaja and ‘Majummel Boys' used his song without his consent or any payment of royalty or license fee," added Annadurai.
The notice calls upon the producers to either obtain proper permission to continue using the song in the film, or remove the song within 15 days of receiving the notice. "If they fail to do so, we will seek remedy under the Copyright Act 1957," said Annadurai.
On May 2, Ilaiyaraaja, a Padma Vibhushan recipient, had also issued a notice to the yet-to-release film, ‘Coolie' starring Rajinikanth, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj. The film, produced by Sun Pictures, had used a refrain from yet another hit of Ilaiyaraaja, ‘Va Va Pakkam Va' from 1983 Tamil film 'Thanga Magan', which, incidentally, also features Rajinikanth, in its teaser.
"There's a history of exploitation, many others have also used his songs without proper permission, so yes, they are also being issued notices," said Annadurai.
Despite trying, PTI could not reach out to producers of ‘Manjummel Boys' for comments.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
