Kannada’s latest blockbuster Kantara is basking in success across the country. Amid all the praises the film is in trouble with plagiarism. A Kerala-based band accused Kantara makers of copying their song in the film. The band named Thaikkudam Bridge claimed that the film’s song titled ‘Varaha Roopam’ is a copy of their song ‘Navarasam’. They pulled their hands out stating they have no association with the movie and accused the makers of plagiarism.
Thaikkudam Bridge took to their Instagram to share a post and wrote, “We would like our listeners to know that Thaikkudam Bridge is in no way or form affiliated with Kantara. The unavoidable similarities between our IP ‘Navarasam’ and ‘Varaha Roopam’ in terms of audio is therefore a blatant infringement of copyright laws. From our standpoint the line between ‘inspired’ and ‘plagiarised’ is distinct and indisputable and therefore, we will be seeking legal action against the creative team responsible for this. There has been no acknowledgement of our rights over the content and the song is propagated as an Original piece of work by the movie’s creative team.”
Several Instragram users drew similarities between the song in the comments section. One wrote, “I had shared this same thing in my Instagram Stories as soon as I heard this song. In fact, for some people I know who’ve heard Navarasam a couple of times, and not a gazillion times like I have, thought that the movie has used the Navarasam song for its visuals, since it’s that is very similar. I really hope justice prevails and that you’re credited for the original piece of art you’ve created.” Another wrote, “As much as I loved that song, it felt like listening to a different version of Navarasam itself.”
Rishab Shetty’s film Kantara is based on the Karnataka annual festivals, Bhoota Kola and Kambala. The film is based on folklore, a story of a conflict between humans and nature. The story revolves around “Bhoota” who trades forest land with King in exchange for happiness later King’s son grows up to become a greedy person and claims back the land. The action-adventure film stars Rishab Shetty, Sapthami Gowda, Kishore Kumar G, Achyuth Kumar, and Pramod Shetty in key roles.
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