Anirudh Ravichander accused of plagiarising Otnicka’s song in Leo, Belarusian musician says no one sought his permission

'Ordinary Man', a song from Leo, sounds the same as Otnicka's popular track 'Where Are You?'

Otnicka (L) and Anirudh Ravichander (R) (Images: Instagram/Otnica, Anirudh Ravichander)

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Anirudh Ravichander is currently the most bankable musician in Tamil and is emerging as a pan-Indian presence after the success of Jawan. With the release of Leo, he has yet again become a rage among his fans. However, a plagiarism accusation has surfaced online making a dent in his image. Many listeners noticed that ‘Ordinary Man’ from Leo sounded similar to Belarusian musician Otnicka’s track ‘Where Are You?’

Otnicka was notified about the similarity in the comment section on YouTube and Instagram by many fans. He replied that no one had sought permission to use his track.

ALSO READ | Anirudh Ravichander on composing music for Jawan: ‘Grew up watching Shah Rukh sir’s films…’

Later, the Belarusian musician shared a post on Instagram which addressed the issue in detail. He claimed that the matter is being looked into and he will update with more information. “Guys, thanks for hundreds of your messages about the movie “Leo”. I can see everything, but it’s physically impossible to answer everyone. The mail is overflowing with messages, Instagram, as well as thousands of comments on YouTube under the video “Where Are You”. The situation is very unclear… We are looking into this and a little later I will give an assessment of everything that is happening (sic).”

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A post shared by OTNICKA (@otnicka)

Here are the two tracks for comparison:

Ordinary Person by Anirudh Ravichander from Leo

Where Are You? by Otnicka

Many took to Twitter to call out Anirudh for allegedly copying the song.

Context: Ani copied ordinary person song from Otnicka – Where are you pic.twitter.com/4yKX1ebpEb

— Shittier Tamil Movie Details (@TamilDetails) October 24, 2023

Anirud has ripped Ordinary Person from Otnicka, a Bulgarian Artist’s soundtrack. He has just added the lyrics over the track. And, looking at the comments here and credits in Leo Song, it seems no permissions were taken. Thanks, @strangeratlife for pointing. https://t.co/G0D9j8RNOJ pic.twitter.com/wouJ92yOiA

— Sylvian (@Sylvianism) October 23, 2023

Maatikinaaru orutharu ivana kaapathunga karthare pic.twitter.com/OUzZadDkBM

— Zaddy (@Zaddystan08) October 23, 2023

Anirudh Ravichander is yet to react to the accusation.

Anirudh was in a similar spot back in 2018. His song ‘Kalyana Vayasu’ from Kolamaavu Kokila was accused of being plagiarised from Sannan’s ‘Don’t Lie’ song. However, the musician said he had bought the rights for the beats from Beats by Mantra.

5.5+Million Views in 4 days, 165K+Likes and still Trending at Number 1⃣ Truly Grateful for this Support!

And for the lack of awareness, I work with a lot of music producers worldwide and this beat is licensed from @beatsbymantra 🥁#KalyaanaVayasu https://t.co/ryZJtcDCHU

— Anirudh Ravichander (@anirudhofficial) May 21, 2018

However, now with Otnicka claiming he hasn’t been approached for the rights to the song, Anirudh has to clear the air with what went down with Ordinary Person.

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