Varaha Roopam - Thaikkudam Bridge seesawing continues, new stay issued against team Kantara

Just when the plagiarism rift between the makers of Kantara and Kerala's popular band Thaikkudam Bridge seemed to be nearing its end, a new court-issued order sets things back to square one. As per the latest reports, Kozhikode court has now issued a temporary stay order which prohibits team Kantara from using the song Varaha Roopam in theatres or on OTT platforms.

The First Additional District Court of Kozhikode has reportedly ruled in favour of Thaikkudam Bridge citing that there is a 'prima facie violation' of the copyright act. Therefore, the court has directed that team Kantara must give due credit to the band and the song publishers Mathrubhumi, if the song Varaha Roopam song is continued to be used in the film. The court also observed that the composer of the Kantara song, B. Ajaneesh Loknath, himself has acknowledged that he sought inspiration from Thaikkudam Bridge's Navarasam.

Recently, the Kozhikode Chief Judicial Magistrate directed the police authorities to seize documents related to the plagiarized song - under Section 64 of the Copyright Act 1957 (related to copyright infringement), after perusing the case diary. The team investigating the matter was also directed to seize the digital workstation to collect evidence and determine whether there was any violation of copyright laws.

The plagiarism battle began back in October 2022 when Thaikkudam Bridge announced that they are taking legal action against the makers of Kantara for the infringement of copyright laws. Soon after, an injunction was issued against the use of the song in the film and also on streaming platforms which forced team Kantara to replace the song with a new version in their OTT release. However, the Copyright claim and the injunction were dismissed by the High Court on 1 Dec 2022 and the song returned in the film & on streaming services in its original form.

However, the issue remains far from settled and over the past few weeks have seen more complications arise. More updates to follow soon.