AR Rahman gets relief from Delhi HC in ‘Veera Raja Veera’ song case

The Delhi High Court has set aside an interim order against music composer AR Rahman over an alleged copyright infringement case related to the Veera Raja Veera song from the film Ponniyin Selvan: II.

An infringement case was filed by Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar, claiming that Veera Raja Veera was a copy of Shiva Stuti, which was composed by his father and uncle.

On Wednesday (September 24), a Delhi High Court division bench comprising Justices C Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla granted relief to Rahman. While hearing Rahman’s appeal against the single judge’s order, the division bench said it had allowed the appeal, saying, “We have authored concurrent opinions. We have set aside the impugned order by the single-judge on principle.”

However, they clarified that the bench had yet to examine the actual question of infringement of the song at this stage.

Justice Prathiba M Singh had passed an interim injunction on April 25 and directed Rahman and the production house of the Vikram and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan-starrer Ponniyin Selvan II to deposit Rs 2 crore in connection with the case.

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The case

In 2023, right after filmmaker Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan II hit the theatres, classical vocalist and Padma Shri awardee Dagar filed a plagiarism suit against AR Rahman, citing the song was copied from Shiva Stuti, a classical song composed by his father, Ustad Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar, and uncle, Ustad Zahiruddin Dagar, collectively known as the Junior Dagar Brothers. The Dagar brothers were renowned exponents of the Dhrupad tradition of the Dagar Gharana.

While hearing the lawsuit against Rahman, Justice Prathiba M Singh noted that Veera Raja Veera and Shiva Stuti were identical. “Not merely based on or inspired by Shiva Stuti but identical… with mere change in lyrics,” the judge observed and directed the music composer and production house to deposit Rs 2 crore.

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Identical songs

In the lawsuit, Dagar argued that while Veera Raja Veera contains different lyrics, its beat and musical structure are identical to Shiva Stuti. He emphasised that he held the rights to all the works of his father and uncle.

He mentioned that Shiva Stuti was composed as early as the 1970s and even highlighted that it had been performed on many international stages, including the Royal Tropical Institute in 1978. Along with an injunction against its use by Rahman, Madras Talkies, Lyca Productions and Tips Industries, Dagar also sought credits for the songs across platforms.

Dagar also shared information in the court that Rahman had once reportedly assured him over a phone call that he would attempt to resolve the matter. However, no follow-up was made.

The defendants in the case claimed that Veera Raja Veera was composed based on a traditional song composition within the Dhrupad genre. They also reiterated that Veera Raja Veera was an original work, composed using western music fundamentals with 227 distinct layers, far beyond the conventions of Hindustani classical music, Bar and Bench reported.