Rishab Shetty's Kantara wins plagiarism case: ‘Will change the song Varaha Roopam on OTT very soon’

Kannada film Kantara face court cases after Kerala-based band Thaikkudam Bridge accused the makers of plagiarising their song Navarasam for the film’s track, Varaha Roopam.

Kerala-based band Thaikkudam Bridge, in October, had pointed out that the song Varaha Roopam from Kantara was a copy of their song, Navarasam. They took to Instagram to level plagiarism allegations against the makers of Kantara and eventually moved to court. Both the plaints filed by Mathrubhumi Printing and Publishing Company Ltd (MPPCL) against the film's producer Hombale Films have been returned. Actor-director Rishab Shetty also tweeted about it.

Rishab Shetty and Sapthami Gowda in a still from Kantara.

As per a report by Live Law, the case was filed in Kozhikode as well as Palakkad district courts. The plaint filed in Kozhikode court was returned on the ground that it has to be presented before the Commercial Court. In the case of the second plaint, the Palakkad court returned the plaint citing lack of jurisdiction. The court observed that the suit has to be filed before Kozhikode District Court as the registered office of MPPCL was in Kozhikode.

On Saturday, actor-filmmaker Rishab Shetty took to Twitter to share the news. He wrote in Kannada. “We have won the Varaharoopam case with the blessings of the Gods and the love of the people. We are going to change the song on the OTT platform very soon considering people's request (sic),” Rishab wrote.

Last month, the film was released on Prime Video. However, the song Varaharoopam was removed following the allegations of plagiarism and Thaikudam Bridge moving court.

Kantara, which translates to mystical forest, tells the story of a local demigod (Bhoota), who trades forest land of the tribe's people with a king in 1870 in exchange for happiness. Many years later, when the king’s son grows greedy and wants the land back, he dies due to the wrath of Bhoota.

The film, directed by Rishab Shetty, is having a dream run at the box-office with over ₹400 crore gross earnings globally. In Karnataka, it has emerged as the highest grossing film of all time.