Varaha Roopam song is not a copy: 'Kantara' director Rishab Shetty

Kantara’s director and main lead Rishab Shetty maintains that the much popular 'Varaha Roopam' is not a copy of Thaikkudam Bridge’s Navarasam.

He also said that the film’s production company Hombale films has issued a statement against the plagiarism allegations.He was in Kochi as part of the film’s success celebrations.

According to Shetty, he hailed from the coastal Karnataka region and his family practiced rituals like Daiva Kola or Buta Kola (an animistic ritual dance practiced by Hindus of Tulu Nadu, Malanadu, and Kasaragod) and that’s exactly the reason why it was incorporated in the film.

 The song courted controversy after Thaikkudam Bridge, a music band from Kerala alleged that the song used in the movie had portions directly lifted from their original song "Navarasam".  Following this, the Principal District and Sessions Court on Friday refrained the creators of the latest Kannada movie 'Kantara' from playing the song 'Varaha Roopam' in the movie without the permission of the band. 

Producer Listin Stephen who distributed the dubbed film under his banner Magic Frames in Kerala said that owing to the popularity of the film they will be screening the film in 235 theatres in the state. According to Hombale Films executive producer Karthik Gouda, ‘Kantara’ is the first Kannada film to garner Rs 1 crore from a single theatre in Kerala.