Madras HC refuses interim relief to Ilaiyaraaja on use of his song in movie Mrs and Mr

Chennai, July 14 (IANS) The Madras High Court on Monday declined to grant any ex-parte interim relief in a civil suit filed by renowned music composer R. Ilaiyarajaa, who has accused Vanitha Film Productions of unauthorisedly using one of his iconic songs as well as misusing his personality rights in the recently released movie Mrs. and Mr.

Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, hearing the matter, stated that no interim order could be passed without giving the other party a chance to respond.

He granted a week for the production house, represented by actor-producer Vanitha Vijayakumar, to file a counter-affidavit.

Ilaiyarajaa had approached the court seeking a direction to remove the song Sivarathri -- originally composed by him for the 1990 Tamil film Michael Madana Kama Rajan -- from Mrs. and Mr., which hit theatres last week.

He also sought a permanent injunction restraining Vanitha Film Productions from using his personality or image for the film’s promotional materials.

Additionally, the composer requested that the production house be directed to disclose profits earned through the alleged exploitation of his personality rights.

Two interim applications were filed alongside the suit -- one seeking immediate removal of the song from the film, and another asking for a stay on the sale, screening, or broadcast of the movie with the disputed song.

When the matter was taken up, Justice Ramamoorthy observed that it needed to be clarified whether the producer of Michael Madana Kama Rajan had indeed sold the rights to the song in question.

Ilaiyarajaa’s counsel, A. Saravanan, argued that the composer retained all rights over the song and that the original producer merely had limited usage rights restricted to the 1990 film.

Appearing for Vanitha Film Productions, senior counsel Sridhar Moorthy contended that his client had secured rights to use the song from an audio company.

He also pointed out that a related dispute involving Ilaiyarajaa, Echo Recording, and Sony Music is currently pending before a Division Bench of the High Court.

When questioned by the judge on how the production house used Ilaiyarajaa’s personality rights in promotional materials, Moorthy requested time to obtain instructions from his client and respond with a detailed affidavit.

The matter has been posted for further hearing next week.

--IANS

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