Navarasam vs Varaha Roopam

At the outset let me clarify a few things

1. This is entirely my view based on facts I have read in the public domain

2. opinion is based on my knowledge of music in general and Carnatic classical music

3. I don't have formal training in any music form vocal or instrumental

4. I don't know any members of Thaikkudam Bridge (TB hereafter) or Ajaneesh Loknath (AL hereafter) or Sai Vignesh (SV hereafter) personally, but I have interacted with some of them as a music-reviewer.

5. None of what I am about to write has been discussed with either TB or AL and I am simply stating my opinion.

6. I will not be making comments on the movie, and I don't know what transpired behind the scenes

7. I did not listen to Navarasam at the time of my exposure to Varaha Roopam(VR hereafter) and only later listened to the TB number after reports of "inspiration" or " Plagiarism" emerged on social media. 

The following article will be in the form of Q&A and I hope some of you benefit from reading this 

Q. At first glance or upon first hearing Navarasam, what did I feel?

Someone I know pointed out to me that Varaha Roopam sounds exactly like Navarasam and that I should listen to the original. I was stunned by this because I had never listened to the Thaikkudam Bridge song before. I must confess that when I first heard VR in the theatre I told myself " wow this sounds like a number that Agam, the Kerala-based Rock/Metal band, would have composed". So when I later listened to Navarasam I definitely understood why people felt it was a copy but I couldn't hear it. 

Q. What do I think happened that made TB approach the courts and file a suit against the creative team of Kantara?

I believe there are elements of the song VR that sound very similar to their Navarasam, one being the Ragam base of Varali which is common in both and the second being the style of metal-carnatic fusion. So the extent of similarity musically could be one reason, but the other even more glaring similarity is the video or the visuals of the song. If VR was used to show a 'Bootha Kola' folk dance, it was 'Thaiyyam' in the case of Navarasam, and maybe this spurred fears and suspicion of malicious intents by the team of Kantara. The unbelievable success of VR and the movie probably also motivated TB to initiate such legal action

Q. What are the points in defence of Kantara team and AL?

Based on my musical knowledge if someone decides to compose a song based on a certain Raga then it is bound to have many similarities with any other song in the same Raga. So the uncanny similarities do emerge because of this, and one could say that had AL chosen some other Raga as the base for the melody this would not have emerged as an issue. 

Also in a recent interview with The News Minute,  SV says that he and AL had jammed together and come up with near impromptu variations and hence the song has at-least 4 different Raga variations like Varali, Mukari, Thodi, Kanakaangi. This too is quite valid and one could hear traces of old classics like '"Thaaye Yashodha" and "Gaanamurthe" ( which is in a Raga very closely connected to Kanakaangi). This is why in his blog famous music journalist Karthik Srinivas had written that despite the similarities AL makes this song his own. 

When I heard the two songs closely they both go into different trajectories after the initial similarities, and this is why I couldn't see how VR was a copy. Even the initial instrumental notes are not a mirror image or copy, but they follow the same Raga. This is why I am not sure how even an arbitrator or Court could come to the conclusion, that AL copied the song. 

Q. What are the points in defence of TB team?

Well if you hear the opening segments with the riff on Keyboards and guitars and the notes of the Violin in Navarasam and Nadaswaram in VR, they do sound similar. Even if they are the same Raga, the tone and feeling you get are that they are too similar for comfort and make it hard for AL to plead innocence. So the team TB probably wanted to address this considering the song's style and visuals also seemed similar. So they had to take it up with the Kantara team

Q. Are there prior examples of such incidents in India?

Well Yes, do read this nice article that came out in The News Minute.

Here there are 6 examples with some sounding just like very mild inspirations or mild similarities, yet courts ruled in favour of the Original composers. I think in the famous web series on Amazon Prime called "Guilty Minds" there was an episode on musical creativity rights, and the lawyers referred to two cases that are also mentioned in this News Minute article. The case against Urumi musician Deepak Dev, and Krazzy 4 composer Rajesh Roshan tell me that minute similarities can be termed as 'plagiarism' as well. 

Interestingly AL has been involved in a case where his music for Rakshit Shetty's 'Kirik Party' was caught in an entanglement with an older Kannada song and composer. I heard both versions and I could sense a similarity in one humming that comes right at the beginning, barring that nothing quite solid enough to call it a copy. The two parties amicably resolved the issue but I now feel why there was even a need to have even a minor segment sounding similar to an original if there was not going to be any credit given to the original or at least an admission of inspiration.

Q. What is my opinion on these matters of similarities in certain segments of two songs and so on?

In this space of music, I think it is impossible to be 100% original, without even inspiration from somewhere else. If the opening segment sounded the same and this led to this fight between TB and Al, then I feel the last part of AR Rahman's "Thumbi Thullal" is exactly the same as the first lines of "Kadhaippoma" scored by Leon James. The similarities between Urumi song by Deepak Dev and an English number as mentioned in The News Minute Article, are as good as those between Ar Rahman's "Kuluvalile" and a song called "Rescue me" that plays as OST in the movie 'Sister Act'. 

But just because some musician gets away with something, or some musician doesn't want to make it an issue and ask for credit, it doesn't mean that that is the rule by which the world should function. 

Q. What do I think could have happened to avoid this mess?

Well AL could have straightaway mentioned to TB and asked for their permission during the creative process. They could have later just publically given credits of inspiration to the TB team, like how we in the field of financial markets always put the name of the source data for numbers, or even charts. 

TB could have let this go thinking here is a young musician who has definitely taken some inspiration from the song but made a very good number on his own too. By the way VR is a fantastic song. 

Q. How do I rate both songs?

Having listened to both, the styles are similar belonging to Carnatic-Metal fusion, and hence both would score similar points in terms of creativity. Vocally Sai Vignesh sings it brilliantly and hence I would give VR more points on the vocal execution. As an overall song to me, Varaha Roopam is a better song with a greater appeal, more Ragas are brought in making it better to listen to and sing as well. In terms of live instrumentals and arrangements, both songs score equally with some splendid guitars, violins, folk percussion and so on. VR would get a score of 8.5/10 while I would give Navarasam a 7.75/10. 

Navarsam gives me trance effect, while VR does that plus also throws in a lovely sense of divinity and calmness. 

Q. Does creating a better song mean that one can copy or take inspiration from the original without credit?

I don't think it is a copy, but VR could well be inspired by Navarasam. I am reminded of this scene from the movie "License to Wed". Here Robin Wiliams is a Priest at a church and he is seen giving a lecture to young children. A question is put forward " is it ok to cheat on your partner with someone who doesn't look attractive". Robin answers " yes it is still a sin". So even if I believe VR is a much better song, it would be wrong if it was a copy. 

Q. What is the latest progress in the legal proceedings?

"The Principal District and Sessions Judge, Kozhikode has injuncted the Producer, Director, Music Composer, Amazon, Youtube, Spotify, Wynk Music, Jio Savan and others from playing the song Varaha Roopam in the film Kantara without the permission of Thaikkudam Bridge. Suit for the injunction has been filed on behalf of Thaikkudam Bridge by Music Attorney, Satish Murthi, Advocate Supreme Court of India."

This is what we have seen on the official Thaikkudam Bridge accounts on social media and in the newspapers. This tells us that the courts approached based on the evidence provided see that AL and the team of Kantara have copied or taken inspiration from TB's Navarasam without due credit or proper permission. 

Without any bias or agenda, I can only tell that AL and Kantara have to abide by the ruling, but it is only them who will truly know if they intended to copy or use any material from Navarasam. When I listen, I see mild similarities but nothing that shows red flags. I also did read in one of the papers that AL met up with Govind Vasantha, but something else has provoked TB into filing the legal notice.

Q. What lessons can I learn from this?

We live in an era where one has to be 100%, in fact 200% sure of what to say or write before doing so. Offending any community or any group at large or hurting someone's sentiments, or saying anything inappropriate was something one could get away with even a decade ago. For all teh right reasons, one needs multiple layers of filters and has to be sure he/she is not uttering anything that comes to mind. The field of music too has shaped up that way where it is NOT ok to copy or lift segments from an original without credit or due permission. The other day I listened to a song called "Bholi Bhali ladki" by Rajesh Roshan, which is a shameful copy of Vidyasagar's "Bodhai eri pochu". I don't think the composers cared back then, but it is what probably let people like Rajesh Roshan learn no lesson and they continued to copy from other musicians without remorse or a sense of ethics.

I still believe that VR is not a copy, but if it was inspired by Navarasam, AL could have talked to TB before the creative process saw the light of day. It is always better to ask someone nicely in life about what they feel, before assuming something. 

Q. Any words for either party?

To Ajaneesh - I think he is one of the brightest and best composers in India today and his varied work and quality of music speak for themselves. I hope he moves on from this episode and comes back stronger and in the future, I hope he talks to the original composers for permission or gives them credit later even for a minute moment of musical inspiration. 

Based on what I have seen in interviews and read, movie directors tend to convince music composers about the style of music they want and they could go as far as saying that they want a song sounding very similar to a song they like. Lokesh Kanakaraj and Maniratnam in their interview have spoken about how they asked their composers to get a very specific style or tone of the music, and this could add pressure on composers to take the word "inspiration" a little too far. Come back strong Ajaneesh, and I think Kantara still deserves a 4.5/5 and will be one of Indias best music albums of 2022

To Thaikkudam Bridge - If indeed you guys believed that the song was a copy or an inspiration that sounded too similar, you deserve to get credit, But I hope you guys dont push too far and amicably, magnanimously allow VR to be played in various media. As of now I can play the song on all media without any trouble. Knowing musicians like Vian and Govind, I feel we are not going to see some distasteful events unfolding. 

Music alone wins in the end, but due credit to whoever has worked hard and originally created something is a MUST. 

To music lovers - Let us not criminalise the KANTARA team and Ajaneesh, but also respect the motivation of Thaikkudam Bridge to take the legal route. Let us enjoy both Navarasam and Varaha Roopam 

To myself- I want to be as fair and balanced in my musical analysis every time I write something, and I hope I have credited the right people and sources when I have quoted something in this article.