Oscar winning-music composer A.R. Rahman would accord credit to the Junior Dagar Brothers in the song Veera Raja Veera from the 2023 film Ponniyin Selvan: II, he agreed before the Supreme Court on Friday, according to a report by legal news website Live Law.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi described the personalities involved in the dispute as “reputed names of the music industry”. It recorded Rahman's submissions and disposed of the plea.
Rahman's counsel, senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, told the bench that the musician would give credit, which would read, “Composition inspired by Dagarwani tradition Dhrupad, first recorded as Shiv Stuti by late Ustad Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar and Ustad Nasir Zahiruddin Dagar, popularly known as Junior Dagar Brothers.”
The court directed that the modification in the song credits be updated across all social media and OTT platforms within five weeks. It also directed Rahman to deposit Rs 2 crore, as determined by the high court, with the registrar general on an interim basis.
The bench clarified that it had not expressed any view on the merits of the case and that the pending civil suit would continue independently of its order.
On February 13, the Supreme Court, noting that Rahman has already acknowledged that the song was from the Dagarwani tradition, had asked the makers of Ponniyin Selvan: II if it could be further acknowledged that the song was first performed by the predecessors of petitioner Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar.
Earlier, Dagar had contended before the high court that he held the copyright over all original works of the Junior Dagar Brothers, including Shiv Stuti, which he claimed was unlawfully infringed upon.
