Hrithik Roshan’s latest chartbuster item song, Krazzy4, has courted legal trouble. Music composer Ram Sampath has dragged Hrithik’s director father Rakesh Roshan and uncle, Rajesh Roshan, to court, alleging that they have “directly lifted” his music for the Krazzy4 album.
Sampath, 32, who has composed music for over 3,000 advertisements, music tracks of films like Khakee and Let’s Talk, and even done a remix for pop sensation Justin Timberlake, has filed a suit for copyright infringement in Bombay High Court. He has alleged that four tracks from Krazzy4 were “direct lifts” from the music he had composed for an advertisement titled ‘Thump’ for Sony Ericsson phones in March 2007.
Ironically, the mobile phone ad campaign too featured Hrithik and his sinewy dance moves.
Krazzy4, a comedy produced by Rakesh Roshan featuring four crazy guys, is slated for release on April 11.
Sampath, who was present in court on Monday with his wife, singer Sona Mahapatra, asked the court to restrain the Roshans from using the “plagiarised music” and sought Rs2 crore in damages. Justice DG Karnik, who heard the matter on Monday, would hear the music in his chamber on Tuesday to ascertain the allegations. Hearing of the case would continue on Wednesday.
The Roshans have denied the claims of copyright infringement and plagiarism. “Irrespective of the outcome, somebody will have to face the music,” quipped advocate general Ravi Kadam, who is representing one of the Roshans.
The trouble began in March when Sampath heard the title track of Krazzy4 being played on a music channel. His lawyer Virendra Tulzapurkar said that his client bought a CD of the album and was shocked to find that the title track, a song titled ‘Break Free’ and their remix versions were “directly lifted” from his music for ‘Thump’ without taking his permission or giving him any credit. In fact, credit for the music has been given to music composer Rajesh Roshan.
Claiming to be the composer and the sole owner of music rights of ‘Thump’, Sampath has also objected to the “plagiarised music” being broadcast worldwide.
