Chennai: A day after it was reported that music director A R Rahman informed the Supreme Court (SC) of his willingness to credit the late Ustad M Faiyazuddin Dagar and his nephew in the song ‘Veera Raja Veera’ from the film ‘Ponniyin Selvan II’, Rahman’s lawyer issued a clarification.In a statement released to the media, Rahman’s advocate Narmadha Sampath said, “The claims of authorship by the junior Dagar Brothers over the composition of ‘Shiva Stuti’ and the allegations of copyright infringement are categorically denied and disputed.” “These positions, as upheld by the division bench of the Delhi HC, remain fully intact and unaffected by the clarification to the credits given before the apex court,” she added. The apex court disposed of the SLP filed by Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar challenging the judgment of the division bench of the Delhi high court. The SC did not interfere with the judgment of the division bench of the Delhi HC and did not express any view on the merits of the dispute, she said.
“The SC encouraged the parties to explore an amicable resolution. In that context, it was indicated that the existing credit accompanying the composition, which previously acknowledged the Dagarvani Dhrupad tradition across all platforms, would be supplemented to state that the junior Dagar Brothers were the first to record the composition ‘Shiva Stuti’,” the note added. The acknowledgement of the Dagarvani tradition was a pre-existing and voluntary credit reflected well before any proceedings were initiated and independent of any interim orders passed in the suit, she said.“In the suit proceedings pending before the Delhi HC, the claims of authorship by the junior Dagar Brothers over the composition and the allegations of copyright infringement are denied and disputed. These positions, as upheld by the division bench of the Delhi HC, remain fully intact and unaffected by the aforesaid clarification to the credits,” she added. All questions relating to authorship, originality, and alleged infringement remain open until proven in the court and will be determined in accordance with the law, the note concluded.
