AR Rahman agrees to credit Junior Dagar Brothers in ‘Veera Raja Veera’ after SC order

AR Rahman to give credit to Junior Dagar Brothers

• AR Rahman will credit Junior Dagar brothers for Veera Raja Veera
• Supreme Court orders updated credits on all platforms in 5 weeks
• Copyright lawsuit over the song remains ongoing

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Music composer AR Rahman has recently agreed to publicly recognise the Junior Dagar brothers' contribution to the song Veera Raja Veera from the Tamil movie Ponniyin Selvan II. He announced the decision in front of the Indian Supreme Court on Friday.

In order to ensure that the Dagar brothers' contributions are appropriately acknowledged, the Supreme Court ordered that the updated credits be applied to all social media sites and over-the-top services within five weeks.

The agreement coincides with an ongoing copyright infringement lawsuit against Rahman and the film's producers brought by Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar, the Dagar brothers' heir, according to a Live Law report.

The Court was informed that Rahman and the film’s makers have consented to include the following line in the song credits: “Composition inspired from the Dagarwani tradition Dhrupad, first recorded as Shiv Stuti by late Ustad Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar and Ustad Nasir Zahiruddin Dagar, popularly known as Junior Dagar brothers.”

Rahman's representative, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, told the bench on Friday that Rahman has consented to recognise the Junior Dagar brothers' performance. According to Abhishek, this recognition does not change the arguments made in the first copyright lawsuit.

Additionally, the lawyer expressed concern about media stories from the prior hearing that said Rahman had experienced a legal setback. The bench stated that the ongoing suit will proceed without being impacted by any comments made during hearings and underlined that it could not regulate how media outlets covered the proceedings.

The Supreme Court dismissed Wasifuddin Dagar's plea against the division bench ruling of the Delhi High Court, which had previously overturned a single bench injunction against Rahman and other defendants.

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The Tamil movie song Veera Raja Veera from Ponniyin Selvan II is at the heart of the copyright issue between AR Rahman and the Dagar brothers.

According to Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar, the song illegally uses important parts of the Junior Dagar brothers' traditional piece Shiva Stuti. The melody, rhythm, and musical expression from the Dagarvani Dhrupad heritage are said to be comparable. Rahman's team contends that the song is an original work and that copyright laws prohibit the monopolisation of shared aspects of the classical culture.

The larger copyright lawsuit over claimed infringement is still pending, even though the Supreme Court has ordered Rahman to recognise the Dagar brothers' performance in the song credits.