KOZHIKODE: The controversy regarding plagiarism of a song in the blockbuster Kannada movie
‘Kantara’ took a curious turn with actor Prithviraj summoned by the Town Police based on the complaint filed by the music band Thaikkudam Bridge claiming that their composition was used in the movie without permission.
His distribution company Prithviraj Productions handled the distribution of the film in Kerala.Meanwhile, the director of the movie Rishabh Shetty said that the ‘Varaharupam’ song in the movie ‘Kantara’ is not a copy but an original composition. He was in the city for the second consecutive day along with the producer of the movie Vijay Kiragandur to give a statement to the Town Police on the complaint filed by the music band Thaikkudam Bridge, who claims that the song was composed by the band for a private media company in Kerala back in 2015.Rishabh further said that there is no copyright infringement and that Varaharupa is his creation. He added that what is going on now is the natural process and the matters have been explained before the investigating officer. He also said that he is thankful for the acceptance of the film in Kerala.
The investigation team led by DCP KE Baiju took Rishabh’s statement. Police said that the first phase of the investigation has been completed.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had stayed the High Court’s order banning the screening of the movie Kantara, which included the song Varaharupam. But the Supreme Court allowed the investigators to continue the investigation against the producer and director of Kantara in the copyright infringement case. Town SI Subhash Chandran is investigating the case.
The Kannada film Kantara produced by the famous production house Hombale Films was a huge success across the country.
“The investigation started after the Principal District Court at Kozhikode issued the order against Hombale Films, Rishab Shetty, and Prithviraj Productions”, said Town SI. Further, the team was asked to present at the station on Sunday and Monday for the further process of the investigation.
Thaikkudam Bridge first took to social media to express their anguish against the film for allegedly plagiarizing their song and also announced their next step to go ahead with legal action against the film team. According to the music band, the audio of the song is an infringement of copyright laws and hence they seek justice from the judiciary.