The Madras High Court last month restrained Mythri Movie Makers from using Ilaiyaraaja’s songs in the movie. Earlier in April, the music composer had sent a legal notice to the producers for using three of his songs in the film without consent, demanding ₹5 crore compensation and asking them to remove the songs.

While the producers claim to have licensed the songs from Sony Music, the ongoing investigation has been deferred to mid-October. The film was even briefly taken down from OTT platform Netflix, where it was streaming after theatrical release, before being reinstated without the songs.

Takedown risks

Industry experts say the unauthorized use of songs can lead to the removal of an entire film from a streaming platform because of the nature of copyright law and the legal remedies available to copyright holders.

“The injunction doesn’t just apply to the songs in isolation; it applies to the use of those songs within the cinematograph film. Since the film incorporates the songs as integral audio-visual elements, the entire film (in its present form) is treated as an infringing work,” said Aishwarya Kaushiq, partner, disputes team, BTG Advaya, said.

History shows courts don’t hesitate to block an entire film when IP rights are ignored. In India, Raj Kapoor’s 1970 film Mera Naam Joker was blocked by the court until music synchronization rights were cleared. Going further back, a German court in the 1920s ordered all negatives and prints of Nosferatu to be destroyed after Irish novelist Bram Stoker’s widow won a copyright suit, Kaushiq said.

Niharika Karanjawala-Misra, principal associate at Karanjawala & Co., pointed out that while complete takedowns are not so commonly found, temporary takedowns and alterations, as is the case of Good, Bad and Ugly as well, of films and television shows pursuant to allegations of unauthorized use of songs are not uncommon.

Bollywood films Krazzy 4 (2008) and Housefull (2010) faced similar litigation and could only be released once the songs in question were removed. Recently, the 2025 US documentary film Selena y Los Dinos was pulled from online streaming shortly after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival due to disputed music and archival material.

Usually, such cases are either settled out of court or injunctions are limited to the infringing part of the work. However, as Varun Pareek, partner, Emerald Law pointed out, the injunction sought by Ilaiyaraaja was to restrain the producer of the film from “exhibiting, screening, selling, distributing, publishing broadcasting, communicating to the public by any means, including but not limited to online streaming on any digital platforms, digital communications by any mode or medium, or in any other way the movie…together with the musical works”.

The music composer sought an injunction against screening the movie as a whole, not the songs alone.

Securing every note

To avoid such conflicts, producers and stakeholders must prioritize securing all necessary rights for every piece of music used in a film by obtaining synchronization and master use licences, said industry experts. The synchronization licence grants the right to use the musical composition (the melody and lyrics), and the master use licence grants the right to use a specific recording of that composition.

If a court finds the core soundtrack unlawfully used, it impacts the integrity of the film as a whole—making exhibition impossible until the dispute is resolved, said Tanu Banerjee, partner at Khaitan & Co. To avoid that, Banerjee said, producers must not only rely on music label clearances but also ensure the composer’s moral rights are addressed, given their independent standing in Indian law.

“Producers should not assume a work is in the public domain or that a music label’s permission is sufficient without also clearing the rights with the composer or publisher,” according to Anupam Shukla, partner, Pioneer Legal. “Working with a specialized entertainment or intellectual property lawyer from the pre-production stage is the most prudent way to ensure all clearances are obtained, documented, and properly negotiated to cover all forms of distribution, including theatrical, home video, and digital streaming.”