Music director Illaiyaraaja has issued a legal notice to the producers of Good Bad Ugly, alleging unauthorized usage and alteration of three of his iconic songs in the film. The songs are “Otha Rubha Tharen”, “Ilamai Idho Idho”, and “En Jodi Manja Kuruvi”.
According to the notice through his legal counsel, Ilaiyaraaja accused the film’s team of using reworked versions of his compositions without permission, and authorisation. He claims this is a copyright infringement and a violation to his moral rights as the original creator.
The composer has demanded the immediate removal of his tracks from the film, along with a written apology and full financial disclosure of any revenue generated from the exploitation of the said music works. Most notably, he has also demanded a compensation of 5 crore following the commercial success of the movie.
Image Source: RedditThis is not the first time the music director has taken legal action over the unauthorised use of his music. In 2024, he issued a similar notice to the makers of the Malayalam blockbuster film Manjummel Boys for using the iconic “Kanmani Anbodu” track from Gunaa without consent. That case was settled after the producer reportley paid 60 lakhs.
On the same year, he issued another legal notice to production banner Sun Pictures over the song “Vaa Vaa Pakkam Vaa”, from a 1983 film Thanga Magan in Rajinikanth’s Coolie. Meanwhile, Good Bad Ugly directed by Adhik Ravichandran, has taken the box office by storm grossing over 170 crores globally within five days of release.
The film features Ajith Kumar, Trisha Krishnan and Arjun Das in lead roles and has quickly become the highest grossing Indian film of the year. As the controversy unfolds, all eyes are now waiting for the makers of Good Bad Ugly to respond to this issue.
Sources: India Today , Cinema Express
