Delhi HC finds AR Rahman’s ‘Veera Raja Veera’, Dagar composition ‘identical’

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday passed an interim order against composer AR Rahman and production house Madras Talkies, over alleged copyright infringement concerning ‘Veera Raja Veera’, a song from the 2023 Tamil film ‘Ponniyin Selvan 2’.

The lawsuit was filed in 2023 by Indian classical vocalist and Padma Shri awardee Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar alleging that ‘Veera Raja Veera’ was a copy of ‘Shiva Stuti’, a composition by his father Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar and uncle Zahiruddin Dagar, popularly dubbed the Junior Dagar Brothers.

In his plea, Dagar sought a permanent injunction to restrain Rahman and the production company from using the song, demanded compensation, and urged court to uphold his family’s moral rights by ensuring proper credit.

Justice Prathiba M Singh, ruling on the interim appeal, noted that ‘Veera Raja Veera’ is “not merely based on or inspired from” ‘Shiva Stuti’, but in fact “identical to it with certain changes.”

Accordingly, the court directed Rahman and ‘Madras Talkies’ to deposit Rs 2 crore with the Court Registry while the case is pending. It also imposed cost of Rs 2 lakh on the defendants.

The court observed that the Dagar brothers were not initially credited in the film. As a corrective step, it directed that on all OTT and online platforms, the slide depicting the credits in regard to the impugned song, shall be replaced as under “Composition based on Shiva Stuti by Late Ustad N Faiyazuddin Dagar and Late Ustad Zahiruddin Dagar”.

Rahman and Madras Talkies, however, denied any wrongdoin, contending that ‘Shiva Stuti’ belongs to the Dhrupad tradition of Hindustani classical music and forms a part of the public domain.