In a relief for Malayalam actor and producer Prithviraj Sukumaran, the Kerala High Court has stayed the FIR against him in connection to copyright infringement case related to the song 'Varaha Roopam' from 'Kantara'.
Sukumaran's name cropped up in the case as he is the distributor of the film in Kerala.
Kerala HC stays FIR against Sukumaran
According to Live Law, the HC stated that just being the distributor of the film in Kerala, does not warrant the actor to be "unnecessarily dragged" into the copyright infringement case.
The bench also observed that initiating proceedings against Sukumaran in the case was "stretching it too far".
Varaha Roopam plagiarism row
It all started when in October 2022, a Kerala-based band named Thaikkudam Bridge accused the makers of 'Kantara' of ripping off their song 'Navarasam' to make 'Varaha Roopam'. They had claimed that the song in the Kannada film had the same melody as that of their original track.
They had also stated that 'Varaha Roopam' follows the same chord progression on guitars only difference being a prominent Nadaswaram in the former while 'Navarasam' has the same spectrum of notes played on carnatic violin.
As the case went up in court, a bench of Kerala HC had directed the makers of 'Kantara' to stop playing the song in the film until the matter got settled.
However, last week, the Supreme Court stayed the Kerala HC's order and clarified that the makers would not have to remove the song from 'Kantara' until a final verdict is passed.
