Composer and president of South Indian Cine Musicians Union, Dhina, said it is sad to see people troll Ilaiyaraaja for wanting to claim his royalty, which it falls well within his rights as guaranteed by Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS).
Last month, Ilaiyaraaja had announced that legal action will be taken against those who don’t get prior permission to sing his songs at events. He released a three-minute video saying that as per rights granted by South Indian Cine Musicians Union from IPRS, he is allowed to take legal action in this matter.
Responding to this, and the trolls Ilayiaraaja has been facing on social media, Dhina said in a Vikatan report that the composer, “was like Karnan from Mahabhrata”.
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“Not just Raja sir, many of us depended on the IPRS. It was set up in 1967 with artistes from Hindi and Tamil film industry. But the association has not been as fair to Tamil cinema as it has been to Bollywood. When Raja sir took this up with the chairman of IPRS, there was a clash, and he left the association. There was nothing wrong in what he did,” he said.
He also added, “Raaja sir is the only one to have composed so many songs, and there is no such artiste in any language. He has composed music for more than 1000 films and 5000 songs.”
Dhina urged people to find out about the background of the problem, because this was only an artiste’s right. “Artistes’ families will be benefited by royalty rights. Many have misunderstood him for claiming the amount, and it is saddening to see people troll him about this. I request people to understand why he released the video.”
He further said Ilaiyaraaja had discussed this with the union before putting out the video. “What he spoke in the video was after a discussion with us. All union members first discussed this and released an official statement regarding his royalty rights. Only a day after this Raja sir released the video.”
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When asked where the royalty amount will be used, Dhina said, “We will spend the money for financial, medical and pension support. It will only be for the welfare of members.”