Ilaiyaraaja issues legal notice to Manjummel Boys team: ‘Remove the song Kanmani Anbodu Kaadhalan or…’

Ilaiyaraaja urges the makers of Manjummel Boys to either acquire his permission to use the song Kanmani Anbodu Kaadhalan in the film or remove it.

The film Manjummel Boys, starring Soubin Shahir and Sreenath Bhasi, was released in February 2024. The Malayalam film has run into legal difficulty after renowned Tamil music composer Ilaiyaraaja sent a legal notice for the unlawful use of his song, Kanmani Anbodu Kaadhalan, from the Tamil film Guna (1991), in Manjummel Boys, according to The Hindu. Also read: Ilaiyaraaja’s legal struggle over music rights: Industry people speak out.

Ilaiyaraaja vs Manjummel Boys creators
According to the article, Ilaiyaraaja accused the makers of Manjummel Boys of ‘unlawfully’ exploiting the song Kanmani Anbodu Kaadhalan, which features Kamal Haasan, in their film without his ‘knowledge, permission, or licence’.

The notice delivered by Ilaiyaraaja’s counsel reportedly stated that he wrote the song. Though the makers of Manjummel Boys acknowledged this in the title cards, ‘the same or any underlying gesture cannot be a substitute for our client’s permission/licence/content for such usage,’ the disclaimer said.

Choose one of the two alternatives.
Because the musical work had been commercially exploited without Ilaiyaraaja’s permission and payment of a royalty or licence fee, his legal team demanded that Manjummel Boys’ producers either obtain the composer’s permission or remove the musical work from their film immediately, in addition to paying compensation for unauthorised usage.

The notification also reportedly warned that the film’s producers, Soubhin Shahir, Babu Shahir, and Shawn Antony, would face civil and criminal charges if they did not exercise one of the two choices.

About Manjummel Boys
Manjummel Boys is a survival drama about a group of 11 friends from Kerala who plan a journey to Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu. Their journey takes a turn when one of the companions falls into a pit within the Guna Caves, which are named after Kamal Haasan’s 1991 film of the same name. Manjummel Boys then depicts how the remaining friends fight against all difficulties to save their mate.