Chennai: Music maestro Ilaiyaraaja is once again in the news after he issued a legal notice to Sun Pictures for unauthorised usage of his music in their latest film 'Coolie', starring Tamil megastar Rajinikanth. The legal tussle comes at a time when the Madras High Court recently maintained that the music maestro cannot claim sole ownership of a musical work.
Ilaiyaraaja, in the notice, said that the makers of the film did not seek any formal permission from him as he is the rightful owner of the music.
In the notice, Ilaiyaraaja claimed that the teaser of Coolie had a rendition of his song 'Vaa Vaa Pakkam Vaa' from the film 'Thanga Magan', also starring Rajinikanth. This music, according to the petitioner, is remixed in the song 'Disco' for Coolie.

The music maestro emphasised that such usage constitutes a clear violation of the Copyright Act (1957). Furthermore, Ilaiyaraaja pointed out that the director of Coolie, Lokesh Kanagaraj, had previously utilised his compositions in the movie 'Vikram' without obtaining consent.
In the notice, Ilaiyaraaja demanded that either the producers of Coolie get proper authorisation for the song 'Vaa Vaa Pakkam Vaa' or remove it from the teaser of the movie. The notice said that if the producers do not abide by the conditions stated in the notice, they will have to "face serious legal repercussions."
(With IANS inputs)

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