Film producers can’t cull out songs I composed for their films and sell them to music labels: Ilaiyaraaja

Acclaimed music composer R. Ilaiyaraaja on Thursday (November 6, 2025) argued before the Madras High Court that film producers cannot cull out the songs composed by him for their movies and sell the rights to exploit those songs to different music labels/third parties.

Appearing before Justice N. Senthilkumar, the composer’s counsel A. Saravanan said, his client neither had an employer-employee relationship with any of the film producers nor had he given them the rights to exploit the songs composed by him as they please.

Contending that the remuneration his client had received from the film producers was for payments to be made to the players of musical instruments, sound recordists, and so on, the counsel said, Mr. Ilaiyaraaja had never parted with his rights over the songs composed by him.

“A cinematograph film is separate and the musical work in it is separate. The film producers can do whatever they want with the entire film, along with the songs, but they cannot sell the rights of the songs alone to third parties without my express consent,” the counsel contended.

He challenged the music labels to produce any document to prove Mr. Ilaiyaraaja had given up his rights over the songs composed by him in favour of the film producers or in favour of anyone else. He also accused the present users of his songs of distorting and mutilating them by changing their beats and rhythm.

The submissions were made during the hearing of an application filed by Telangana-based Mythri Movie Makers, the producers of Ajith Kumar-starrer Good Bad Ugly (GBU), to vacate an interim injunction granted by the judge in favour of Mr. Ilaiyaraaja on September 8, 2025.

Passing interim orders in a civil suit filed by the composer, the judge had injuncted the production firm from using three songs — Otha Ruba Tharen from the 1996 movie Nattupura Pattu featuring actor Sivakumar, Ilamai Idho Idho from Kamal Haasan starrer 1982 flick Sakalakala Vallavan, and En Jodi Manja Kuruvi from the 1986 movie Vikram — in GBU.

Senior counsel P.V. Balasubramaniam, representing the production firm, told the court his client had obtained the rights to use those songs from different music labels on payment of charges ranging from ₹10 lakh to ₹40 lakh but was now suffering an injunction for no fault on its part.

Similarly, the counsel representing a couple of the music labels, from whom Mythri Movie Makers had purchased the rights, told the court they had obtained the rights from popular production houses such as AVM Productions way back in the 1990s. Mr. Ilaiyaraaja had not entered into any agreement with those production firms prohibiting them from selling the rights of the songs composed by him.

They contended that if at all Mr. Ilaiyarajaa had to fight a case against anyone, it must be against the film producers for whom he had composed the songs and not against the music labels or others who were using his songs now after obtaining the necessary rights.

Responding to the arguments, Mr. Saravanan said, those who want to use his client’s songs must approach him seeking his consent. He could not help if they had been fooled by paying money to the music labels which do not hold any rights. After hearing their elaborate arguments, Justice Senthilkumar reserved orders on the application to vacate the injunction.