Ilaiyaraaja's name removed from 'Mrs. and Mr.' promotions after legal notice

Chennai, July 23 (IANS) Music composer Ilaiyaraaja’s name has been withdrawn from all promotional materials related to the recently released film Mrs. and Mr. after he moved the Madras High Court, alleging unauthorised use of his name and work.

During the hearing of a civil suit filed by the legendary composer, Vanitha Film Productions informed the court that his name had been removed from promotional content on Instagram and other platforms. Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy recorded the submission made by the production house’s counsel, Sridhar Moorthy. Ilaiyaraaja’s counsel, A. Saravanan, argued that his client was not associated with the film in any capacity and that the use of his name amounted to misrepresentation.

The court was informed that the production team had used the song Sivarathri, composed by Ilaiyaraaja for the 1990 Kamal Haasan-starrer Michael Madana Kama Rajan, in Mrs. and Mr. without his permission. The promotional materials reportedly credited him as the film’s composer, misleading the public. In his suit, Ilaiyaraaja sought an immediate removal of the song Sivarathri from Mrs. and Mr., which was released on July 11, and a permanent injunction restraining the production house from using his personality rights for promotional purposes. He also requested the court to direct the producers to disclose any profits made by using his name and work.

The composer filed two interim applications alongside the main suit — one seeking the removal of the song from the film and another seeking a ban on screening, distributing, or broadcasting the movie with the disputed song. In response, the producer’s counsel stated that Ilaiyaraaja had wrongly named Vanitha Vijayakumar as the producer, whereas promotional materials identify Jovika Vijayakumar as the actual producer. Moorthy also said Sony Music Entertainment, which owns the rights to Sivarathri, must be made a party to the case. The judge granted Ilaiyaraaja time till August 18 to file the necessary applications for amending the cause title and adding Sony Music as a defendant.

--IANS

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