Delhi HC allows use of ‘Rang De Lal (Oye Oye)’ song in OTT release of Dhurandhar 2

Trimurti Films alleged unauthorised use of the song ‘Tirchi Topiwale’ from the film ‘Tridev’ in the track ‘Rang De Lal (Oye Oye)’.

The Delhi high court has refused to restrain filmmaker Aditya Dhar’s production house from using the song ‘Rang De Lal (Oye Oye)’ in the OTT release of the film ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’, observing that the producers had invested substantial money and effort in the project based on agreements with music label T-Series.

The official poster of the movie ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’.

A bench of justice Tushar Rao Gedela, in an order passed on Thursday, said Aditya Dhar’s production house and Jio Studio could not now be placed in a disadvantageous position or made to suffer huge financial losses at the instance of Trimurti Films, which had approached the court at a belated stage alleging copyright infringement.

“In the present case, defendant no.1 and defendant no.2 on the assurance and the agreement with defendant no.3 have invested huge sums of money, time and efforts in producing the cinematograph film ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ and cannot now be put to a detrimental or disadvantageous position and direct them to undergo huge financial losses merely at the askance of the plaintiff, as and when the plaintiff chooses to awaken from its deep slumber,” the court said.

The court further observed that allowing the song during theatrical exhibition while restraining its use on OTT platforms would create an untenable situation.

“In that, so far as the broadcasting of the said cinematograph film in cinema halls/movie theatres is concerned, the presence of the alleged infringing song/remixed version would be permissible, whereas the same would become an infringing act so far as the OTT platforms are concerned. This, to the mind of this court, is inconceivable and cannot be countenanced,” the order said.

However, in order to ensure equity, the court directed T-Series to deposit ₹50 lakh with the Registrar General within four weeks.

The order came while hearing an interim relief plea filed by Trimurti Films in a copyright infringement suit against Aditya Dhar’s production house B62 Studios and T-Series.

Trimurti Films alleged unauthorised use of the song ‘Tirchi Topiwale’ from the film ‘Tridev’ in the track ‘Rang De Lal (Oye Oye)’.

Appearing for Trimurti Films, advocate Swati Sukumar argued that under a 1988 agreement relating to ‘Tridev’, only limited sound recording rights had been assigned to T-Series for exploitation through cassettes and gramophone records, with royalty payments linked to such usage.

The plaintiff contended that the agreement did not grant rights to incorporate the song, either in original or remixed form, into another cinematograph film without obtaining a separate licence.

Sukumar also argued that the song ‘Tirchi Topiwale’ had been used twice in ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ in the form of a new track, thereby adding commercial value to the film, which was then exploited across platforms including JioSaavn, Gaana and Spotify.

T-Series, represented by senior advocate Akhil Sibal along with advocate Aditya Gupta, opposed the plea for interim relief and argued that Trimurti Films had suppressed previous instances where similar songs from ‘Tridev’ were used in other films.

The music label further contended that the plaintiff had approached the court with “unclean hands”.

Senior advocate Sandeep Sethi, appearing for JioCinema, submitted that permitting the song during theatrical screenings while prohibiting its use in the OTT version of the same film would create an “irreconcilable incongruity”.