'Manjummel Boys' controversy: Makers pay Rs 60 lakh to Ilaiyaraaja as compensation for using song 'Kanmani Anbodu'

Producers of the superhit Malayalam movie Manjummel Boys, Soubin Shahir, Babu Shahir, and Shawn Antony, reportedly paid a compensation of Rs 60 lakh to popular music composer Ilaiyaraaja for using the song "Kanmani Anbodu" in the movie without permission.

Claiming that the makers of Manjummel Boys did not seek his permission to use the song, from the movie Gunaa, starring Kamal Haasan in the lead, Ilaiyaraaja had demanded compensation to Rs 2 crore.

Ilaiyaraaja had claimed that the song played a major role in making the movie popular, and sent a legal notice to the makers demanding compensation, in May.

The Manjummel Boys team, however, had claimed that they had secured the music rights for the song, a claim that Ilaiyaraaja did not agree to.

The compensation amount of Rs 60 lakh was finally fixed after a few rounds of talks, say media reports.

Manjummel Boys, directed by Chidambaram S. Poduval, was a survival thriller based on real events and follows the story of a group of friends from Manjummel town in Kochi who go on a trip to Kodaikanal. Tragedy strikes when one of them falls into the dangerous Guna Caves.

The movie was a huge box office success, the first Malayalam film to cross Rs 200 crore.