Over nearly fifty years, Ilaiyaraaja has made an indelible mark on Indian cinema by composing music for more than 1,500 films and writing upwards of 8,000 songs. His extensive repertoire is among the most commercially successful in the industry, reaching audiences through theaters, radio, television, global live performances, and increasingly, various streaming services. Despite the vast revenue generated, the bulk of the financial returns typically benefited producers, record labels, and event organizers, while Ilaiyaraaja himself received a minimal share. What sets him apart from other musicians facing similar circumstances is his refusal to accept this inequity.
Ilaiyaraaja, born Gnanathesigan on June 3, 1943, in Tamil Nadu, embarked on his career as a film composer with the movie Annakili in 1976. This marked the beginning of an incredibly productive period in Indian film music history. He has been honored with five National Film Awards—three for Best Music Direction and two for Best Background Score—as well as the prestigious Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan. His fans affectionately refer to him as “Isaignani,” or the musical sage. In June 1993, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London further recognized his talent by bestowing upon him the title of “maestro,” making him the first Asian to have his symphonic composition performed by the orchestra.
Despite these notable awards, Ilaiyaraaja’s financial compensation has been a significant issue, rooted in systemic challenges. Music companies have often exploited legal loopholes, retaining rights without providing adequate royalties to artists. The Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS), which is supposed to manage these matters, has offered minimal payments to composers and lyricists. The advent of digital media complicated this landscape even further, with some entities distributing music online without securing the necessary permissions from the original creators.
In response to these challenges, Ilaiyaraaja chose to take legal action. In September 2014, a judge from the Madras High Court prohibited music labels from using his work, a ruling that was solidified in March 2015. During this time, he filed a contempt motion against these labels, accusing them of continuing to exploit his music in violation of the court’s decision. A notable case involved Agi Music, which claimed rights over his compositions for a decade. Ilaiyaraaja challenged this assertion, contending that agreements with no defined duration were valid for only five years, and presented evidence showing that the company owed him Rs 3.37 crore in royalties from 2007 to 2014.
He also alerted broadcasters, publicly stating that any prior agreements he had signed were only valid for five years, and that they needed to properly renew them to continue using his music.
A pivotal moment that highlighted the industry’s divisions occurred in 2017, when Ilaiyaraaja sent legal notices to renowned artists SP Balasubrahmanyam, SP Charan, and Chithra, who were set to embark on a world tour featuring his songs. He prohibited them from performing his music without explicit permission and warned of potential legal repercussions for unauthorized usage. SPB subsequently announced that he could no longer perform those tracks, leading to a split in the industry regarding the situation.
While some composers viewed the legal notice as excessive and believed a simple discussion could have resolved the issue, experts argued that the notices targeted the event organizers rather than SPB personally. The organizers, large media corporations, were charging ticket prices ranging from $30 to $250 per seat, with venues that could accommodate thousands of attendees.
Further disputes ensued, including a legal notice sent to Sun Pictures after Ilaiyaraaja discovered that his 1983 composition from Thangamagan had been used in the teaser for Coolie without his consent or payment. The notice also implicated director Lokesh Kanagaraj for allegedly misusing Ilaiyaraaja’s music in various films, including the 1986 production Vikram.
Simultaneously, he initiated a copyright dispute against the creators of the Malayalam hit Manjummel Boys for using his music from the 1991 film Guna without authorization. The producers claimed they had compensated the music recording companies for the rights, but Ilaiyaraaja asserted that no payments had been made to him.
A settlement was eventually reached with Mythri Movie Makers regarding the unauthorized use of five tracks in the films Good Bad Ugly and Dude. The production company agreed to pay Rs 50 lakh, which was transferred via RTGS after deducting applicable taxes. An interim injunction mandated the removal of three songs used in Good Bad Ugly, while the tracks in Dude were allowed to remain on the streaming platform.
However, not all legal challenges have favored Ilaiyaraaja. The Delhi High Court issued a temporary order preventing him from commercially exploiting various sound recordings across a catalog of over 130 films, following claims from the music label Saregama that the copyrights belonged to them. The court referenced the Copyright Act of 1957, which typically grants copyright ownership to film producers unless a contract specifies otherwise. This highlights a central tension in his legal struggles: the clash between a composer’s moral rights over their creations and the contractual frameworks that historically transfer those rights to producers and labels.
The ongoing series of disputes illustrates the significant hurdles that composers and lyricists in India continue to encounter as they strive to assert even their most basic copyright rights.
