Kantara plagiarism row: Prime Video removes song from film, Thaikkudam Bridge says ‘justice prevails’

Kerala-based band Thaikkudam Bridge, who had earlier sought legal action against Kantara song Varaha Roopam alleging plagiarism, has now shared an update. Taking to Facebook on Thursday, the band announced that the song has been removed from the film by Prime Video. Kantara released on the OTT platform on Wednesday night. (Also Read | Kantara song plagiarism row: Court says Varaha Roopam can’t be used in film ‘without permission of…’)

Sharing a picture collage of their song Navarasam and Varaha Roopam, Thaikkudam Bridge wrote, “Amazon Prime has removed the plagiarised version of our song N A V A R A S A M from the movie KANTARA. Justice Prevails. Thanks to our Attorney: Satish Murthi & our mentor Mathrubhumi for their unstinted support. Thanks to our musician fraternity, fans and media who extended their wholehearted support to fight for their rights.”

Thaikkudam Bridge, in October, alleged that Varaha Roopam was a copy of their song, Navarasam. On Instagram, they levelled plagiarism against the team of Kantara. Their statement on Instagram read, “We would like our listeners to know that Thaikkudam Bridge is in no way or form affiliated with Kantara. The unavoidable similarities between our IP Navarasam and Varaha Roopam in terms of audio is therefore a blatant infringement of copyright laws.”

It also added, “From our standpoint the line between Inspired and Plagiarized is distinct and indisputable and therefore, we will be seeking legal action against the creative team responsible for this. There has been no acknowledgement of our rights over the content and the song is propagated as an Original piece of work by the movie’s creative team.” The song has now been removed from the film, released on Prime Video, days after Thaikkudam Bridge moved to court in this matter.

Kantara, which translates to mystical forest, tells the story of a local demigod (Bhoota) who trades forest land to the tribe’s people with a king in 1870 in exchange for happiness. Many years later, when the king’s son grows greedy and wants the land back, he dies due to the wrath of Bhoota. The film, directed by Rishab Shetty, has already earned over ₹400 crore gross at the box-office globally. In Karnataka, it has emerged as the highest-grossing film of all time.