High Court Favors AR Rahman In

AR Rahman faced a copyright issue over a song in Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan 2 in 2023. Classical singer Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar had claimed that Rahman’s song Veera Raja Veera was copied from Shiva Stuti, composed by his father Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar.

In April, a single judge had ruled in favor of the complainant, asking Rahman to give credit to the original composers and pay 2 Crores as compensation, along with 2 lakh rupees in costs. Rahman appealed, and a division bench initially stayed the order but still asked him and the producers to pay 2 Crores.

On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court division bench set aside the earlier ruling. Justices C Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla allowed Rahman’s appeal, saying they were overturning the single-judge order in principle. The court clarified that the question of actual copyright infringement has not been decided yet.

Rahman is now busy composing for Ram Charan’s upcoming pan-India film Peddi marking his return to Tollywood after nearly 20 years.