AR Rahman Faces Legal Heat as Court Finds 'Veera Raja Veera' Almost Identical to Classical 'Shiva Stuti'

Music maestro AR Rahman and production house Madras Talkies have found themselves in legal hot water. The Delhi High Court recently passed an interim order in a copyright case linked to the song Veera Raja Veera from the film Ponniyin Selvan 2.

The case was filed by Padma Shri awardee and classical Dhrupad vocalist Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar. He alleged that the song is not an original work but a direct copy of Shiva Stuti, a Dhrupad composition originally created by his father Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar and uncle Zahiruddin Dagar, who were known together as the Junior Dagar Brothers.

Justice Prathiba M Singh, while presiding over the matter, clearly stated that Veera Raja Veera is not just influenced by Shiva Stuti, but is “identical” to it with only slight changes. The court ordered Rahman and Madras Talkies to deposit ?2 crore with the court registry for now. Along with that, a cost of ?2 lakh was imposed on them.

The judge also instructed the film producers to give proper credit to the Junior Dagar Brothers across all online platforms where the film appears. It was noted that the original composers had not been acknowledged at all when the movie was released.

Dagar’s legal team claimed that even though the lyrics of Veera Raja Veera were different, the song’s rhythm, structure, and overall musical arrangement matched Shiva Stuti. The original composition has been globally performed and featured in various albums under PAN Records.

On the other hand, Rahman’s legal side denied all allegations. They said Shiva Stuti is a traditional Dhrupad piece and therefore lies in the public domain. They added that Veera Raja Veera was Rahman's original work, made up of 227 musical layers and inspired more by Western orchestration than Indian classical.

Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar is represented by advocates Neel Mason and Arjun Harkauli. Senior advocate Amit Sibal, briefed by Bharucha & Partners, is defending AR Rahman. Saikrishna Rajagopal and Sneha Jain are representing Madras Talkies and Lyca Productions in this ongoing legal matter.