'These people are thieves': Tridev maker Rajiv Rai says Aditya Dhar stole Tirchi Topiwale for Dhurandhar, explains case

Rajiv Rai's Trimurti Films has sued the makers of Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar 2, claiming they have used his film Tridev's song Tirchi Topiwale without permission.

Days after filing a suit against the makers of Dhurandhar over the alleged unauthorised use of the Tridev song Tirchi Topiwale, filmmaker Rajiv Rai has addressed the case in a new interview. The filmmaker, who directed and produced Tridev, to which the song originally belongs, slammed the Dhurandhar team for using it in the film without his consent.

Rajiv Rai has sued Aditya Dhar and the other makers of Dhurandhar.

What is the controversy

Tirchi Topiwale was filmed for Tridev and picturised on Madhuri Dixit, Sonam, and Sangeeta Bijlani. Written by Anand Bakshi and composed by Kalyanji-Anandji, the song was a chartbuster. The song appears in the climax of Dhurandhar: The Revenge, which released last month. A remixed version also finds a place in the film’s soundtrack.

Rajiv Rai’s company, Trimurti Films, has now sued Jio Studios and B62 Studios, the production houses behind Dhurandhar 2, as well as T-Series, which holds the film’s music rights, over the song’s use. In an interview with DNA India, Rai says, “This is a theft. Yeh poori chori ban jaati hai. Aur aap isko dusri picture mein dalte hai alter kar ke, toh woh double chori hai (This becomes a case of theft). When you use the song in another film after altering it, it is double theft). This is a theft in my eyes. When these people go to court, they will say that we did not steal. You go to court because there is a crime. I have to prove that this is a theft and this is a crime. The court has to give a verdict on whether I am right or wrong.”

‘These people are thieves’

T-Series holds the music rights of Tridev’s songs, and they argue that they have the rights to use the song in Dhurandhar 2, as a result. However, Rajiv Rai argues that this allows them to use the song only in the soundtrack and the album, and not as part of the picture track

Slamming the makers of Dhurandhar, including the production houses and director Aditya Dhar, Rai says, “It's my creation that has gone into Dhurandhar. Have I earned anything out of it? No. Have they thanked me? No. Have they taken permission? No. In my opinion, it's a theft, and these people are thieves. Na apne gaana create kiya, record kiya, then kis hadh tak leke ja rahe hain (You didn't create or record the song, then how are you using it). I've created, produced, and recorded the song. I have paid lyricist Anand Bakshi and Viju Shah for the music. I own the song.”

About Tridev and Dhurandhar 2

Tridev, released in 1989, was directed by Rajiv Rai and produced by his father, Gulshan Rai. Starring Naseeruddin Shah, Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff, Madhuri Dixit, Sonam, Sangeeta Bijlani, Anupam Kher and Amrish Puri, the film was a box-office hit with its soundtrack becoming a hit as well.

Dhurandhar 2 stars Ranveer Singh, alongside Arjun Rampal, R Madhavan, Sanjay Dutt, Rakesh Bedi, and Sara Arjun. Directed by Aditya Dhar and produced by Jio Studios and B62 Studios, the film boasts of music by Shashwat Sachdev.