Actor, director, and producer Rakshit Shetty who is known for delivering quality cinema in Kannada has find himself at the center of a copyright controversy. His production house, Paramvah Studios, faces an FIR for allegedly using songs from the Kannada films Nyaya Ellide and Gaali Maathu without proper permissions from its makers in their recent production, Bachelor Party.
The FIR was filed by Naveen Kumar, representing MRT Music label. His company claims significant investment in acquiring rights to classic Kannada songs which were used in the film. The complaint alleges that the makers of Bachelor Party have used the iconic titular song from the film Nyaya Ellide (1982) and 'Omme Ninnannu' from Gaali Maathu (1981) without acquiring proper permissions from the makers.
According to Kumar, discussions regarding the use of these songs took place in January 2024, but no formal consent was granted to 'Bachelor Party' makers. Nonetheless, the songs were prominently featured in Bachelor Party upon its release on an OTT platform this March.
Bachelor Party, written and directed by Abhijit Mahesh, was released in theatres on January 26, this year. The comedy film stars Diganth Manchale, Yogesh, and Achyuth Kumar and was produced by G S Gupta and Rakshit Shetty under his Paramvah Studios banner. The producers are yet to issue an official statement regarding the allegations they face.