Lyricist Vairamuthu criticises Tamil filmmakers for using his verses as film titles without permission
Popular Tamil lyricist and writer Vairamuthu on Monday (June 9) criticised Tamil filmmakers for using verses from his songs as titles of their films without seeking permission from him.
Taking to his official X handle, the lyricist claimed that those filmmakers neither sought permission nor informed him about the same. 'It's not just one or two. 'Ponmaalai Pozhudhu,' 'Kann Sivanthaal Mann Sivakkum,' 'Ilaya Nila,' 'Oorai Therinjikitten,' 'Panivizhum Malarvanam,' 'Vellaipura Ondru,' 'Poove Poochooda Vaa,' 'Eeramana Rojave,' 'Antha Nilava Thaan Kaiyila Pidichen,' 'Mouna Raagam,' 'Minsara Kanna', 'Kannalane,' 'Ennavale,' 'Uyire,' 'Sandakozhi', 'Poovellam Kettuppar,' 'Thenmerku Paruvakaatru,' 'Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa,' 'Neethaane En Ponvasantham,' 'Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal,' 'Thangamagan'...the list goes on.'
ALSO READ: Chinmayi interview on 'Thug Life' song: 'Despite praise, I feel numb'
The lyricist added that even at times when he came across the said filmmakers, he neither scolded them nor questioned them for doing so. 'Because it gave me joy that in a society where wealth isn't a common property, at least knowledge is becoming common,' he added.
'To ask, 'Why didn't you ask me before doing this?' would not be civilised of me. But then, would it not be uncivilised of them to not ask me even a single word before doing it?' wrote Vairamuthu.
The tweet drew quite a few reactions from the netizens, one of whom wondered if this was a fair ask from the lyricist. 'If you look at it that way, no one can use anything. The words in your lyrics may have appeared in a book, a novel, a short story, or even a poem before. So what if those writers claim ownership of the said verses? You can state this if an entire song was misused,' read the post.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
42 minutes ago
- Time of India
Partho Ghosh, director of 100 days, Agni Sakshi and Dalaal, passes away at 75
Partho Ghosh , the man behind some of the most gripping Hindi thrillers of the '90s, passed away on Monday at the age of 75 due to heart complications. A filmmaker who often blended mystery, drama, and mainstream appeal, Ghosh carved a niche for himself in both Hindi and Bengali cinema . He was living in the Madh Island area of Mumbai and is survived by his wife, Gouri Ghosh. About Partho Ghosh's work Starting his film journey in 1985 as an assistant director on small projects, Ghosh got his big break with the 1991 psychological thriller 100 Days, starring Madhuri Dixit and Jackie Shroff. A remake of the Tamil hit Nooravathu Naal, the film's eerie plot about a woman with extrasensory perception left a lasting impression on audiences and critics alike. It was the unofficial adaptation of the 1977 Italian giallo film Sette note in nero and the American film Eyes of Laura Mars. He followed it up with a series of box office successes. Dalaal, headlined by Mithun Chakraborty, was among the year's top earners, while Agni Sakshi , starring Nana Patekar, Jackie Shroff, and Manisha Koirala, became a hit and is still remembered for its powerful performances and intense storyline. He belted out another major success titled Ghulam-E-Musthafa , which was a crime drama starring Nana Patekar and Raveena Tandon. Throughout his career, Ghosh directed more than 15 films, including Teesra Kaun, a Hindi adaptation of the Malayalam hit No.20 Madras Mail. His later works included Ek Second… Jo Zindagi Badal De? and Rehmat Ali. His final directorial, Mausam Ikrar Ke Do Pal Pyaar Ke , was released in 2018.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
‘Narivetta' writer Abin Joseph says the story was about tracking the lead character's journey
With Narivetta, Abin Joseph, yet another writer makes his feature film debut. The film, directed by Anuraj Manohar, stars Tovino Thomas, Suraj Venjaramoodu, and Tamil actor Cheran in lead roles. The film, a bildungsroman of sorts, follows the journey of an unemployed young man, Varghese Peter, as he finds himself over the course of the film. While Abin's short stories and novellas have been published in leading Malayalam magazines, Narivetta, he says, is the fulfilment of a long-held dream. Kallisseri Thesis, his collection of short stories, was awarded the Kerala Sahitya Akademi's Geetha Hiranyan Endowment (2and the Sahitya Akademi's Yuva Puraskar (2020). Edited excerpts from an interview with Abin. How did you come to write the story of Narivetta? I had an idea for a story about a young man with dreams and ambitions for himself but does not want to take on responsibilities. This person, at one particular juncture in life, has to take on a job that he does not like. Especially something like policing, which is a tough job. He lands up there at a point of crisis — a plot point — for which I thought of several options. But they were all typically investigations or murder mystery kind of storylines. Instead, I thought of weaving in a social cause. Thus I reached the idea of bringing in some kind of a social crisis and a cop posted at the site of a brewing conflict — in this case, strike by tribal people for land. How did you and Anuraj come to collaborate? I have known Anuraj before he made Ishq. He had called to ask if I had stories that could be made into a film. Though I was already a published short story writer I did not have any stories that could be made into a film. Nor did I seriously make any attempts to get into films. When he reached out after Ishq I was in the process of writing a couple of stories for films. But I did not have stories that were convincing enough either; so I did not call him back. In 2020, when my novella Koorginji was published in a magazine Anuraj called me and said let's make a film. We tossed about a couple of ideas. That is when I got the idea for Narivetta. We spoke and decided to go ahead with the project. You are a writer. How is this form of writing (for cinema) different from literature? How did you approach it? I have been primarily writing short stories and novellas; writing for films and scripting is very different. That said, there are similarities too. When it comes to writing, say a screenplay, one is writing with a clear idea of the form. There are technical aspects, and beyond that the 'size' [of the film] is important. A screenplay will have many 'moments' and characters, unlike a short story or a novella which may not have as many elements. A short story does not have to be a large canvas, it can be small, personal, without too much action. A screenplay, however, has to have action — that is the basic difference of form. I approach these with a clear notion of the medium (scripting), that this is to be made into a movie for an audience who will watch it and engage with it. A short story or a novel, however, does not have these restrictions. A writer can take liberties with the medium — keep the tempo slow and experiment with the narrative style. We can do the same with movies, but, at the end of the day, a movie still has to be engaging. Unlike literature, it does not demand that we keep the audience on tenterhooks with expectation. There is freedom. A script is all about 'what to shoot'. The 'how to shoot' is the director's vision. But what to shoot is on the writer. I approached it with a clear notion about how it should be. Then there are the dialogues. I enjoy writing dialogues, be it for short stories or films. However, the metre has to go with the story and the situation. Your approach vis-a-vis the subject. You were a journalist. Did that influence you or impact your research? Honestly, for Narivetta, I did not do a lot of research. The reason was that neither were we recreating history nor were we documenting it. We were travelling with the protagonist, Varghese Peter, as he goes through life and arrives at this historical event, which we have referenced. I was more focussed on this character's journey — emotional and otherwise. I did not dig deep by way of research into what happened at the time because information overload would distract from the focus of the script, diluting the storytelling. So, I just stuck to basic research and because I wanted it to be a good film I have taken some cinematic liberties. That is all. How much time did you spend on the writing? Were there inputs from Anuraj? Anuraj is not the kind of director who discusses each aspect scene by scene. After listening to the story, he will tell you his directorial vision. It is not a scene or dialogue. Instead, he will tell you what he would like to get from a particular scene. He is a director who has a vision about the film, which is probably why he is able to communicate like that. What that does to a writer is that it affords you freedom and responsibility as well. Once I got an idea about the subject and the characters, it took six to seven days to write the first draft of the screenplay. A change we made before the shoot was making the narrative non-linear; the progression was linear initially. We added some scenes, did some rewriting, rewrote the dialogues to make them crisper — these are all part of the process of making a film. As a writer what was the difficult part of the process? More than writing a story or screenplay, the difficult part of the process is a project materialising and becoming a movie. You can write a story if you lock yourself up and sit in a room, but for a screenplay to become a film, you need a director, a producer or an actor. I am talking about commercial films. All these factors have to come together. Then once it releases after post-production it becomes a movie. That is the difficult part of the process. That is perhaps the challenge of making a commercial film. I don't know if 'academic' films face the same challenges. The journey of a commercial film is to collect for the producer. That is the difficult part, in my opinion. When did cinema become a part of your plan? Cinema has always been part of my wishes and aspirations. I was in school when I realised I wanted to be a writer; my stories were published in popular magazines, and during school youth festivals my short stories won prizes. Though at that point I wanted to be a writer, a part of me wanted to be a part of cinema too. But due to my circumstances, I could not chase that ambition. I worked as a journalist with newspapers; life was going on like this when I got the call to do my first film. I quit my job; at that point I had a few film stories and films which did not start. I could have done something else, you can write even if you are in another job. But I wanted to be part of the movies. I try to watch one film a day or at least an episode of a series. I was in Class II when we bought a television set in my house. This was the late 1990s, I would watch these black and white movies. I still remember watching these films. Cinema was a passion in those days. I would tell my classmates the stories of films I watched. Today when I look back I can't help but think that cinema has nourished the storyteller in me. Not everybody had television at home. Those days there were cassettes with the soundtrack of the movies, or on the radio. So it was a ritual to watch a movie and narrate the story to my friends. Maybe, it was through films that the idea of storytelling came to me. This could have easily become a documentary-type of a film. What precautions did you take? Honestly, we did not think of it that way. Like I said earlier, the storytelling was following the character that we had created. I have tried to bring, through my writing, the emotional journey of the character — his life as he faces and overcomes challenges and crises. Weave in the situations, build the other characters. That is all that I have tried to bring. I believe the film has an element of mystery that arouses curiosity. The attempt has been to approach the character and subject with utmost integrity. That I think is the most genuine and pure form of storytelling. We have not included anything for the sake of it, we have tried to keep it organic with the action following the hero's journey. Which, I feel, enabled a more organic filmmaking for the director. A writer's job is, usually, quiet and low profile while movies are more public…how are you handling the attention? (Laughs) That is a good question. We writers, generally, like to keep a low profile, inhabit a quiet space. I am 100% like that. Going out in public to meet people [in the context of films], interviews etc make me self conscious. However, as a short story writer, I participate in literary events and discussions. Film promotions were back to back, and that is part of cinema. At the end of the day, cinema is a product — we can talk about our politics and our emotions but eventually it is a product which is headed for the 'market'. We have to get the 'returns' within x number of days. Secondly, if we want the movie to reach new audiences we have to make the effort. That is the new way not just for films but also for books, I guess. But books don't have a shelf life unlike movies. A book's success might be inevitable, but we have to make the effort to promote a film. What next? What next? I have a couple of completed film scripts; Anuraj and I have have discussed a couple of stories. We would like to proceed with one of those. Then there are few others that I have thought about, made blueprints of those which I need to work more on. That is the plan for now.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Thalapathy Vijay wants no company with any political affiliations to get the distribution rights of his film 'Jana Nayagan': Report
Thalapathy Vijay has made a significant decision regarding the distribution rights of his upcoming film 'Jana Nayagan.' The team has completed filming all scenes involving the lead actor, while a few portions featuring supporting actors are still pending. The much-awaited film is set to release on January 8, 2026, for the occasion of the Pongal festival. Reportedly, Amazon Prime has secured the OTT rights, and Sun TV has acquired the satellite broadcasting rights. With the core parts of the film wrapped up, the focus has now shifted to the sale of other distribution rights. Thalapathy Vijay 's stand regarding political influence In light of this, Thalapathy Vijay has reportedly set a clear condition for the producers. According to The Hindu, Vijay has insisted that no company with any political affiliations should be allowed to purchase the distribution rights. This decision is said to reflect Vijay's stance on keeping the project neutral and independent from political influences, which aligns with the image he wants to maintain as he transitions from cinema to public life. His message to the production house was firm, leading to some companies rethinking their involvement. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo New distributors enter the race One such company is Romeo Pictures(the distributor of Vijay's last release 'GOAT'), which was initially considered a strong contender for the Tamil Nadu distribution rights. However, after Vijay's directive, the company has decided to withdraw. It is now speculated that the rights might go to Lalit Kumar. If that deal doesn't go through, Kalaipuli S. Thanu is also being considered. The same approach will reportedly be followed for the distribution rights in other states as well, ensuring a consistent policy across regions. Star-studded cast and high expectations Directed by H. Vinoth, 'Jana Nayagan' features a star-studded cast including Bobby Deol, Pooja Hegde, Prakash Raj , Gautham Vasudev Menon, Priyamani, and Mamitha Baiju. With Anirudh Ravichander scoring the music and Satyan Sooryan handling the cinematography, the film has generated huge anticipation, especially since it is expected to be Vijay's last film as a lead actor. Check out our list of the latest Hindi , English , Tamil , Telugu , Malayalam , and Kannada movies . Don't miss our picks for the best Hindi movies , best Tamil movies, and best Telugu films .
