'Manjummel Boys' Maker Responds To Ilaiyaraaja's Legal Notice On 'Kanmani Anbodu' Song

Shawn Antony, producer of blockbuster Malayalam film 'Manjummel Boys', has responded to the legal notice issued by the music maestro Ilaiyaraaja over using 'Kanmani Anbodu' song from 'Gunaa' in the recent flick.

The producer has stated that the team had sought permission from two audio labels. He said, "One of the companies holds the rights for the Telugu version, and the other for the remaining languages. We got rights from Pyramid and Sreedevi Sounds, the music companies which own the song."

He also noted that the co-producers Soubin Shahir and Babu Shahir have not received the legal notice, yet,

Ilayaraja sent the notice to the producers of the Malayalam movie 'Manjummel Boys' for using a song he composed for the 1991 Kamal Haasan movie 'Gunaa' on May 22. The notice, addressed to Soubin Shahir, Babu Shahir, and Shawn Antony of Parava Films, asserts Ilayaraja's legal, moral, and special rights to the song. It warns of legal action if the song is not removed from the film or proper permission and compensation are not obtained.

Ilayaraja's notice states, "Our client reserves the right to initiate appropriate legal actions for the improper and unauthorized use of the song in the said cinematographic film, which is his original musical work." It further explains that the song was commercially exploited without authorization and without paying royalties or licensing fees to Ilayaraja. Consequently, the counsel has called upon the film's producers to either obtain permission from Ilayaraja or remove the song from their movie and compensate him for the unauthorized usage.

The movie has turned out to be one of the biggest box-office hits of all time in Mollywood, garnering an impressive Rs 234.25 crore in box office earnings worldwide. Overseas, it has collected Rs 73.25 crore, while its total gross in India stands at Rs 161 crore.

'Manjummel Boys' had its theatrical release on February 22, 2024, in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.