Amazon’s Kantara move: 'Justice' for Thaikkudam Bridge, but fans unhappy

Fans waiting to watch Rishab Shetty’s much-talked about film Kantara on OTT will be a disappointed lot. The blockbuster film is streaming on Amazon Prime from November 24 but there will be an integral part of the super-hit movie that will be missing. The controversial song Varaha Roopam is not included in the film, thanks to the ongoing bitter battle between Kerala-based rock band Thaikkudam Bridge and Hombale films.

Thaikkudam Bridge and Mathrubhumi had filed two lawsuits against Hombale films accusing them of plagiarizing their song Navarasam. Two courts in Kerala have passed an order restraining the makers from using the song Varaha Roopam in the film and on online platforms such as Amazon, YouTube, Spotify, JioSaavn and Wynk. On Wednesday (November 23), the Kerala high court dismissed the petitions filed by Hombale films against the ad-interim injunction order passed by the two lower courts restraining the use of the song Varaha Roopam in the movie, Kantara.

The Kerala-based multi-genre music band took to social media to express their happiness soon after they found out that Varaha Roopam was replaced with another song in the Kantara version on Amazon Prime. The band put up a post on Facebook said:

Amazon Prime has removed the plagiarised version of our song ‘NAVARASAM’ from the movie KANTARA . Justice Prevails ! Thanks to our Attorney: Satish Murthi & our mentor Mathrubhumi @mathrubhuminewstv for their unstinted support. Thanks to our Musician fraternity, fans and Media who extended their whole hearted support to fight for the rights.

Also read: Rock band Thaikkudam Bridge threatens to sue makers of ‘Kantara’

Vian Fernandes, the frontman of Thaikkudam Bridge, had spoken at length on video to The Federal, revealing the series of incidents that took place before they filed a lawsuit against the makers of Kantara. Watch the entire video in the link below:

Vian claimed in the video that director Rishab Shetty wanted music director B Ajaneesh Loknath to come up with a song similar to Navarasam for his movie Kantara. The rapper said that Navarasam had been the reference track provided by the director to the music director to create the song.

Kantara’s release on Amazon Prime was delayed as the film was running housefull in theatres across India. The film has crossed the Rs 400 crore mark worldwide and is one of the highest grossers of 2022 in India.

Also read: Kantara makers vs Thaikuddam Bridge: Kerala band to file another case

Many felt Kantara would be streamed on a rent basis initially, but was surprised to know that it was available free for all subscribers without any restrictions. However, fans are a disappointed lot as they feel that the climax portion of the film isn’t what they experienced when they watched it in the theatres. And, they have taken to social media to vent their displeasure –  ‘Bring back Varaha Roopam’ is trending on Twitter. Here are some of the tweets:

#KantaraOnPrime Feel this bgm,🔥 but new version is 😡🤮 varaha roopam theatre version was materpeice, please try to add this song or remove the movie from Amazon prime.#varaharoopam pic.twitter.com/ImPuSIXYtK

— A Ajay🗯️ (@AlisonajayKumar) November 23, 2022

#KantaraOnPrime Feel this bgm, but new version is  varaha roopam theatre version was masterpeice, please try to add this song or remove the movie from Amazon prime.#varaharoopam

@Alisonajaykumar

#KantaraOnPrime Watched the climax of #kantara again on #AmazonPrimeVideo. ‘Varaha Roopam’ is gone. Thanks @thaikudambridge your thirst for money and 15 minutes fame spoilt the spiritual bliss that the movie gave millions of people.

— tweety pai (@tweety_pai) November 23, 2022

#KantaraOnPrime Watched the climax of #kantara again on #AmazonPrimeVideo. ‘Varaha Roopam’ is gone. Thanks @thaikudambridge, your thirst for money and 15 minutes fame spoilt the spiritual bliss that the movie gave millions of people.

@tweety_pai

“Varaha Roopam” from Kantara has been replaced with a song on a different Raaga on Prime in all languages. Sad that Thaikudam Bridge has forced them to do this legally!  Greed will lead one to nowhere! #KantaraOnPrime

@indhavaainko

Thaikkudam bridge was unhappy that the makers of Kantara have been using the song Varaha Roopam in theatres even after the court’s order. However, they are now relieved that the song has been replaced on Streaming platforms. The Kerala-based band claims that all they wanted was credit for their song and the music label Mathrubhumi was fighting for monetary compensation.

It will be interesting to see if Hombale films and Thaikkudam bridge acknowledge each other and give fans an opportunity to rejoice the song on the streaming platform.

#KantaraOnPrime #VarahaRoopam #T