Kantara: Varaha Roopam track deleted from YouTube, streaming platforms after court order

Following the recent orders of the Kozhikode court, the makers of Kantara have deleted the track Varaha Roopam Daiva Va Rishtham from YouTube and a select few music streaming platforms such as Jio Saavn. The popular song from Rishab Shetty's film became a subject of a major controversy after the Kerala-based band Thaikkudam bridge claimed that it was an unsolicited rip-off of their track Navarasam. 

The band shared the court verdict via social media about two weeks ago which stated that Varaha Roopam cannot be used by team Kantara on YouTube and other streaming services like Amazon Music, Jio Saavn, Spotify, Wynk, etc without due permission. A few days prior to the court's orders, Thaikkudam Bridge had announced that they would be seeking legal action against the makers of Kantara for the "blatant infringement of copyright laws".

Varaha Roopam has now been officially removed from the makers' official YouTube account but remains available as part of the audio jukebox on the streaming site. Similarly, the song is yet to be deleted from platforms such as Spotify.

Composed by B. Ajaneesh Loknath and sung by Sai Vignesh, Varaha Roopam grew to be a vital component in the narrative of Kantara and elevated the climax sequences to a new high, adding more life and energy to Rishab Shetty's mesmeric performance on the screen. Despite many reckoning that it bears very little resemblance with Thaikkudam Bridge's Navarasam, the band asserted that both the tracks have unavoidable similarities and alleged that the Kantara version has been plagiarized.

Producers Hombale Films are yet to openly discuss the matter and address the allegations. Music composer B. Ajaneesh Loknath, on the other hand, had stated that while he was certainly inspired by the ethos of Navarasam and that he has always admired Thaikkudam Bridge's music, Varaha Roopam is by no mean a "copy". Recent reports revealed that Mathrubhumi Kappa TV is possibly negotiating with team Kantara for the usage of the song in the future.