Thaikkudam Bridge, a popular Kerala-based music band on Monday, October 24 said that they will be filing a lawsuit against the makers of the Kannada film Kantara for allegedly plagiarising one of their songs. The band took to social media and shared a post alleging that there are "unavoidable similarities" between Kantara's song, Varaha Roopam, and the band's intellectual property (IP) Navarasam. Thaikkudam’s Navarasam, a classical rock number, released in 2015, was a tribute to Kerala’s popular art form Kathakali, and about the commercialisation of this art form, whereas Varaha Roopam in Kantara features the beliefs and worship of Bhoota Aradhane in Dakshina Kannada. The compositions incorporated in Varaha Roopam are a wide range of musical genres and styles, including rock, folk songs, jok-kay (low tone) throat singing, Carnatic classical, and paddana (folk songs) which is very similar to Navarasam that is based on the Indian concept of the rasa (sentiments).
Pointing out that the similarities between the two songs are a blatant infringement of copyright laws, the band said, “We would like our listeners to know that Thaikkudam Bridge is in no way or form affiliated with "Kantara". The unavoidable similarities between our IP "Navarasam" and "Varaha Roopam" in terms of audio is, therefore, a blatant infringement of copyright laws.”
The band said that they would resort to legal recourse against the movie. “From our standpoint, the line between "Inspired" and "Plagiarized" is distinct and indisputable and therefore we will be seeking legal action against the creative team responsible for this. There has been no acknowledgement of our rights over the content and the song is propagated as an Original piece of work by the movie's creative team,” the band said.
Urging the public to raise their views against copyright infringements, the band added, “We request the support of our listeners and encourage you to spread the word about the same. Also, request our fellow artistes to share and raise your views protecting music copyright.”
These allegations come after Kantara makers were criticised for comments that the bhoota tradition of the Dakshina Kannada region was part of the Hindu tradition. Over the last few weeks, there have been several discussions online about the similarities between the songs.
Navarasam by Thaikkudam Bridge
Varaha Roopam in Kantara