PS2 Song: AR Rahman, Mani Ratnam in Copyright Soup

The ‘Veera Raja Veera’ song from legendary Tamil filmmaker Mani Ratnam’s historical movie, Ponniyin Selvan 2, was a massive chartbuster. Composed by the genius AR Rahman, the classical number aided the maverick director’s portrayal of Ponniyin Selvan’s heroism on screen.

But the very song has now landed AR Rahman and Mani Ratnam in legal soup. The Delhi High Court on Friday issued an interim order, directing AR Rahman and the film’s production companies, Madras Talkies and Lyca Productions, to deposit Rs 2 crore in a copyright infringement suit filed by popular Dhrupad vocalist Padma Shri Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar. The court also directed PS2 makers to credit the Junior Dagar Brothers for the composition across various online platforms.

The Delhi High Court found that the ‘Veera Raja Veera’ song is musically “identical” to Shiva Stuti, a devotional piece composed and performed by the iconic Dhrupad exponents, the late Ustad Nasir Faiyazuddin and Ustad Nasir Zahiruddin Dagar, aka the Junior Dagar Brothers, who recorded it at the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam in 1978 as part of the Holland Festival.

In 2023, Ustad Nasir Faiyazuddin’s son and legal heir, Wasifuddin, filed a copyright suit alleging that AR Rahman’s ‘Veera Raja Veera’ song and its taandav style had the same musical foundation as that of the Dagar brothers’ rendition. He alleged that the ‘Veera Raja Veera’ song had been completely plagiarised and used without any permission or credit.

However, the lawyers representing Mani Ratnam’s production house, Madras Talkies, denied Wasifuddin’s allegations, claiming them to be misconceived and doing this allegedly “for monetary gains & publicity.” The lawyers representing Rahman and Madras Talkies claimed that ‘Veera Raja Veera’ is a “traditional composition created by Narayana Panditacharyain in the 13th century.” They also reiterated that the song is an original work within the dhrupad style.