Music maestro A.R. Rahman on February 20 agreed before the Supreme Court to give credit to Ustad N. Faiyazuddin Dagar and Ustad N. Zahiruddin Dagar, popularly known as Jr. Dagar Bandhu, in his Veera Raja Veera song from Tamil film Ponniyin Selvan II during the pendency of a suit by an heir of the Dagars accusing him of copyright infringement. Appearing for the composer, senior advocate A.M. Singhvi told a three-judge bench led by CJI Surya Kant that the composer had always respected tradition and had taken the spirit behind the court’s suggestion at the last hearing. Singhvi said, Rahman would insert a new credit line for the song to be displayed every time it was played on OTT or online channels.
The line reads: “Composition inspired by Dagarvani Tradition Dhrupad, first recorded as Shiva Stuti by late Ustad N. Faiyazuddin Dagar and late Ustad N. Zahiruddin Dagar.” Singhvi said, the insertion would take four weeks to take effect on all media. The bench granted five weeks’ time for the same.
Delhi high court’s Justice Pratibha Singh had asked the credit line ‘Composition inspired by Dagarvani Tradition Dhrupad’ to be replaced with ‘Composition based on Shiva Stuti by late Ustad Faiyazuddin Dagar and late Ustad Zahiruddin Dagar’. This interim direction was set aside by an appeal fileb by Rahman. It was challenged in the Supreme Court by Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar.
A week back, the bench advised Rahman to acknowledge contributions of the legendary Jr. Dagar Bandhu to the Dhrupad tradition of classical music.
Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar had filed a suit seeking to bar A.R. Rahman from using Shiva Stuti and said that he still held copyright over the composition by his father and uncle.
Disposing of the appeal, the bench said that all contentions of parties would be kept open during the trial of the suit pending before the high court single-judge bench and clarified that it had expressed no opinion on the merits of any issue raised in the suit.