Chennai: My music is my only wealth, said maestro Ilaiyaraaja, adding, “the name, fame, and wealth I currently own were all acquired only through cinema.”
The veteran film music director and Rajya Sabha member made the submission in Madras high court, while giving evidence in a 15-year-old case filed by Music Masters publishing company, claiming rights over songs in 109 films of Ilaiyaraaja. They include songs from films ‘Thevar Magan’ and ‘Guna’. The company wanted the court to restrain social media platforms like YouTube from publishing the songs.
Ilaiyaraaja told the master court in the high court that he knew little about worldly possessions such as the number of bungalows he owned, as his full involvement is only in music.
The petitioner-company said it owned rights to the music of 109 films such as ‘Thevar Magan’, ‘Pandian’, ‘Brahma’ and ‘Guna’. It wanted the court to grant an injunction against social media platforms to prevent the songs from being used without their permission.
Earlier, when the plea came up for hearing before Justice Abdul Quddhose, it was argued that the agreement granting rights to the songs was made in 1997, and therefore, there was no mention of YouTube or social media platforms.
The suit was forwarded to the master court for recording evidence. On Thursday, Ilayaraaja appeared before Judge P Ilango to provide witness.
During the cross-examination, he was asked how many properties he owned. To this, the music director submitted that he was completely focused on music and did not know about his worldly possessions. Similarly, asked whether his name, fame, and wealth were all acquired through cinema, he answered, “Yes, everything came from cinema.”