Music is divine – it is the echo of the
idiosyncracies and mental state of its producers. The marvelous complexities and the ability
of trained musician to infuse his individuality by almost endless variations is
the spirit of Indian music ~ the Shastriya Sangeet, better known as Carnatic
music. The music of this Nation is
thousands of years old. The divine music
is intricate and it is a science that cannot be excelled by any creation of
human mind. Like all old branches of
learning, it is based upon the religious faiths, observances, legends and
traditions of the country, depicting the social manners and customs of the
people, in the history of the tunes, and words of the song.
Carnatic music [Karnataka sangeetham] the
soul-stirring type is commonly
associated with the southern India including the modern states Andhra Pradesh,
Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, and alson Sri Lanka. Although there are stylistic differences, the
basic elements of śruti, swara, rāga and tala form the foundation. The carnatic
compositions are master-pieces that have Pallavi, Anupallavi and Saranam. Pallavi the commencement of the song like a
budding leaf; anu pallavi is furtherance and Saranam literally means reaching
the divine State, the ultimate goal.
Super hero, unearthing of black money, doing
good to depraved in the name of God, super computing, hacking – many of the
Hollywood ideas were put inside the entertaining film of Shankar with Vikram in
lead role – a movie of hero reaching out to poor and needy people who still
crave for a square meal from out of enormous riches of super rich a la
Robinhood was ‘Kanthasamy’…
.. ..the film taking reference to the
famous Murugan Temple at Thiruporur (at the other end of the OMR) – where
thousands of people tie piece of paper containing their wish – ...... on the tree (sthalavriksham), a
tradition followed in many villages.
People firmly believe that God would answer the prayers and in 2009
released film in which Vadivelu’s comedy tickled bones – was a great hit !
Of the many songs, there was this no. ‘ Excuse
me Mr. Kandasamy, oru coffee kudipoam, come with me ’- there seemingly rhyme but not much of
literary meaning .. .. yet this song achieved some notoriety following a controversy
soon after its release when an advocate V. Elango claimed that he had written
five lines of the song ! The song
featuring Vikram and Shriya – today’s the Hindu reports, has partially emerged out of the seven-year
legal battle, as its director, producer, and music director have recently won a
criminal case in the Madras High Court against an advocate, who claimed to have
penned a few lines of the song.
The song had run into a controversy soon after
its release when an advocate V. Elango claimed that he had written five lines
of the song and alleged that director Susi Ganesan, producer Kalaipuli S. Thanu
and music director Devi Sri Prasad of the film used the song as if it was
composed by someone else and released the film. While he lodged a private complaint before VII
Metropolitan Magistrate at George Town here for an offense under various
sections of the Copyright Act, 1957 and the Indian Penal Code, the film
director, producer and music director moved the High Court against it.
Allowing their plea, Justice P.N. Prakash said
it was not the case of the complainant that he had composed the song in its
entirety, but only five lines. “This (lines penned by the advocate) is only
pallavi and not saranam. The whole song will have saranam, which will be the
crux of the lyrics, the pallavi being the frills. Viewed from that perspective,
in the considered opinion of this court, the present prosecution launched by
the complainant (advocate) is surely an abuse of process of law.” The judge quashed the prosecution pending on the
file of the VII Metropolitan Magistrate Court against the director, producer,
and the music director of the film.
However, a civil suit filed by the advocate in
the High Court against the director, producer and the music director for a
declaration that he alone was entitled to exploit all the rights in respect of
the lyrics is still pending. Incidentally, a single judge had in 2009 said that
there was prima facie material to show that the complainant had composed the
pallavi portion and a Division Bench directed the producer to show the name of
the advocate V. Elango as lyricist in the rolling titles in respect of the
pallavi under dispute in the bracket of the song starting ‘Excuse me Mr.
Kandasamy’
S0, the song is not music to ears, for these
people litigating on pallavi and saranam.
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
24th Oct 2016
News source : The Hindu of date.