Chennai (Tamil Nadu): The Madras High Court continued its temporary ban on Thursday, October 16 preventing the producers of the Tamil film Good Bad Ugly from incorporating three compositions by legendary music director Ilaiyaraaja. During today's proceedings before Justice N Senthilkumar, several music production companies notified the court about their pending applications to join the case, which had not yet been officially registered. The judge postponed the hearing until October 23, 2025, while maintaining the existing restrictions. The filmmakers sought to have the temporary ban lifted but the court declined to remove the restriction. The renowned composer has alleged that three of his musical works were incorporated into the Ajith-starrer without proper authorization or royalty payments. The disputed tracks include Otha Ruba Tharen from Nattupura Pattu, Ilamai Idho Idho from Sakalakala Vallavan and En Jodi Manja Kuruvi from Vikram. 

What Did Ilaiyaraaja Argue?

According to Ilaiyaraaja, the filmmakers used his compositions without securing any form of approval and failed to compensate him for the legally mandated royalties. He maintains this represents unauthorized exploitation and a violation of both his intellectual property and artistic integrity rights. The composer's legal team emphasized that no authorization was granted to use, modify, or adapt these musical pieces for the new production. They cited provisions under the Copyright Act (Sections 19(9) and 19(10)) that guarantee composers receive compensation whenever their work is utilized in any format.

Ilaiyaraaja's petition argues the filmmakers violated Section 51 of the Copyright Act, entitling him to various legal remedies including preventing further unauthorized use, claiming financial compensation for unpaid royalties and damages, potential criminal charges under Section 63 for deliberate infringement, and pursuing claims for violations of his artistic rights under Section 57. The film was removed from from Netflix on September 17, 2025 and reinstated after replacing Ilaiyaraaja's compositions with new music composed by GV Prakash Kumar.

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