Kantara plagiarism row: Thaikkudam Bridge determined to make example out of ‘Varaha Roopam’ song copyright violation

“He (composer Ajaneesh Loknath) had to say something. If you have to just talk about the raga, the song starts in the same format as Navarasam. The next part is also the same. The chord and the feel could have been changed. The heavy part with Chanda and the groove is the same. The guitars are coming in. Everything is sounding the same. Then how can you say that it is raga? Raga is the scale. I understand (that) as a musician,” Vivan Fernandez, a member of Thaikkudam Bridge band, told The Cue.

“Somebody who does not know anything about raga or music, you make them listen to Navarasam first, which we composed five years ago, and then make them listen to the Kantara song, even they will spot the similarity,” he added.

Vivan also stopped short of explaining the band’s course of action in the matter. “Independent bands don’t have a stronger scene when it comes to such matters. And to go against a movie production is not an easy thing. I think as an independent band we want to make a statement. We are fighting for something which is us,” he said.

Written and directed by Rishab Shetty, who has also played the lead in the movie, Kantara is fast becoming one of the biggest critical and box office hits of Indian cinema this year.