‘Agneepath’ in copyright tussle!

Zeenews Bureau Mumbai: The most-awaited release of the month has landed in a copyright tussle. A song from ‘Agneepath’, ‘Oh Saiyya’, might not get to see the movie theatres on January 26. A resident of Nagpur, Aditya Salankar, has moved the district and sessions court in Nagpur regarding the song. According to the complainant, the song ‘Oh Saiyya’ was a copy of a song composed by him. The defendants, Sony Music and five others, along with Karan Johar and Dharma Productions, were asked by the court to respond to the complaint by January 27. The song is sung by Roop Kumar Rathod in the movie, and according to the complainant, is copyright property. Aditya Salankar has also stated that he was the one who had composed music for the song with lyrics ‘Teri Meri Kahani Adhoori’, and was planning to release it in an album titled ‘Kaira’, sometime in mid-February. The disputed song has already seen about Rs. 15 lakhs spent on its music and video, and Salankar has slammed a demand of Rs. 2 lakh as compensation for violation of his copyrighted property. Both the songs, the one by the complainant and the one used in the film, according to the judge who heard the two, appeared deceptively similar to each other. Also, the lyrics, too, were almost the same. The judge has said, “If the film is released before with the debatable song, it may cause an irreparable loss to the plaintiff.” So now, one of the most-loved songs of ‘Agneepath’ is in trouble. And perhaps the movie will see its release without the afore-mentioned song. Seems like our music directors aren’t able to come up with originals of late. The question, however, remains – how far will plagiarisms take them?