Row over copyright: ‘Kantara’ team reiterates their previous stance before investigation team

Rishab Shetty and Vijay Kirgandur, director and producer of Kannada blockbuster Kantara, appeared before the investigating officer at the Kozhikode town station on Monday also as part of the ongoing probe into a case filed by the Kerala band Thaikkudam Bridge accusing the two of copying their music and using it for the ‘Varaharoopam’ song.

Standing firm

Mr. Shetty and Mr. Kirgandur stood by their previous argument that no portion of the song was copied for the ‘Varaharoopam’ song and the one used in Kantara was their original composition. They also claimed that the ongoing police investigation into the allegations was quite natural and part of the normal legal procedures.

The two appeared before the investigating officer on Sunday and Monday following an order from the Kerala High Court that had laid out specific conditions while granting them anticipatory bail. Police sources said the two cooperated with the procedures and further actions would be taken after verifying the documents related to the copyright.

Plagiarism case

Police sources said the original documents related to the copyright were yet to be submitted for verification by the complainants for further proceedings. “The complaint was that the Kantara team plagiarised Thaikkudam Bridge’s ‘Navarasam’ released in 2015. We have recorded the statement of the accused. Framing of the charges would be done after verifying the original legal documents related to copyright”, the sources said.