Ilaiyaraaja Legal Notice To Manjummel Boys

Music legend Ilaiyaraaja has issued a legal notice to the makers of the blockbuster Malayalam film, Manjummel Boys, for the unauthorized use of his iconic song "Kanmani Anbodu," originally from Kamal Haasan's Gunaa. Despite audience praise for the song's inclusion at a critical moment in the film, Ilaiyaraaja is not pleased.

He has filed a copyright infringement suit, demanding that the filmmakers seek proper permission to continue using the song. Ilaiyaraaja emphasized his "legal, moral, and special rights" over "Kanmani Anbodu," stating in the notice, "Our client reserves the right to initiate appropriate legal actions for such improper and unauthorized usage of the song in the said cinematographic film, which is his original musical work.

Earlier, a journalist had also accused the makers of Manjummel Boys of using the track without Ilaiyaraaja's consent but later retracted his complaint.

Released in February, Manjummel Boys has become one of the highest-grossing films in the Malayalam industry this year. The survival thriller features a cast including Soubin Shahir, Sreenath Bhasi, Balu Varghese, Ganapathi S. Poduval, Lal Jr., Deepak Parambol, Abhiram Radhakrishnan, Arun Kurian, Khalid Rahman, and Shebin Benson. Based on a real-life incident from 2006, the film follows a group of friends whose trip to Kodaikanal takes a dramatic turn when one of them gets trapped in the Guna caves.