Ilaiyaraaja Reaches ₹50 Lakh Settlement in Copyright Dispute with 'Good Bad Ugly', 'Dude' Producers
Mythri Movie Makers agreed to pay the composer after using five of his songs without permission. A joint memo has been submitted to the Madras High Court.
Music composer Ilaiyaraaja has settled a copyright dispute with Mythri Movie Makers, ending a months-long legal battle over the unauthorised use of several of his songs in two Tamil films. The production house, behind Good Bad Ugly and Dude, has agreed to pay the composer ₹50 lakh, according to a joint memo submitted to the Madras High Court on 3 December.
The dispute stemmed from the use of five tracks from the composer’s extensive catalogue—three incorporated into Ajith Kumar’s Good Bad Ugly and two featured in Pradeep Ranganathan’s Dude—without prior clearance. The memo notes that the Hyderabad-based company transferred the settlement amount to Ilaiyaraaja through RTGS after deducting statutory tax.
The agreement draws a line between the two cases. While the songs used in Dude will continue to remain available on the OTT platform where the film is currently streaming, the producers have committed to removing the three Ilaiyaraaja compositions from Good Bad Ugly in compliance with an interim injunction issued in September. That order had temporarily barred the film from using any of the disputed tracks.
Ilaiyaraaja, represented by senior counsel S. Prabakaran, had originally approached the court over the inclusion of songs he composed between 1982 and 1996. These included Otha Ruba Tharen from Nattupura Pattu (1996), Ilamai Idho Idho from the Kamal Haasan film Sakalakala Vallavan (1982), and En Jodi Manja Kuruvi from Vikram (1986). A second suit followed when two additional songs—Nooru Varusham from the Rajinikanth-led Panakkaran (1990) and Karutha Machan from Pudhu Nellu Pudhu Naathu (1991)—were allegedly used in Dude without clearance.
Both matters were pending when the settlement was reached. The memo describes the payment as made in the spirit of “commercial settlement and gratitude,” signalling an intent from both sides to avoid further litigation. Ilaiyaraaja has also agreed to issue a public statement acknowledging the compromise.