When the announcement promo of Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri was unveiled in December 2024, Kartik Aaryan and Ananya Panday’s fans cheered their reunion in the rom-com. But the 32-second promo left filmmaker Rajiv Rai upset. Reason? The preview used the opening beats of Saat Samundar, the chartbuster from Rai’s film Vishwatma (1992). The director has instructed his legal team to alert Dharma Productions, which has backed the Christmas release, and music label Saregama about the violation.
(Clockwise) Ananya Panday and Kartik Aaryan in the film. Pics/Instagram, Youtube
Talking to mid-day, Rai expressed his disappointment that the banner as well as the label used the track without his consent. He added that while the rights of some of his songs rest with Saregama, his agreement with the label didn’t have a clause about them being used for other movies. Rai shared, “Saat Samundar’s beats are not there in the latest teaser of Tu Meri… that was released. I’m not sure if it’s used in the movie. [Regardless] they can’t use the beats like this, especially when nobody asked my permission to use them. It’s a bad trend where [filmmakers] are using [old] songs and claiming that they are taking [the rights] from the music company. What has happened here is that Saregama thinks it owns the music of Vishwatma. The label can use the songs [for TV shows and stage performances], but it cannot take the music from my film and put it in another movie. They must approach me for my permission, pay me for it, and everything needs to be documented legally.”
‘Saat Samundar’, which featured late Divya Bharti (in white), remains popular to date
The filmmaker added that his legal team will approach producer Karan Johar, instructing the makers not to use his music in Sameer Vidwans’s directorial venture. He is hopeful that the matter will be resolved amicably. “I personally don’t like creating a legal situation as it’s a waste of time, energy, and money.” At the same time, Rai is certain that if the protocol to attain a song’s rights is not duly followed, he will have no option but to seek legal recourse. “If any content of our films is used by another film, we will go to court, before or after the release,” he asserted.
mid-day reached out to Dharma Productions and Saregama. Both did not respond till press time.
‘Tip Tip Barsa Paani’ from ‘Mohra’ (1994) was remixed, initially without the filmmaker’s permission, for ‘Sooryavanshi’ (2021). Looking back on it, Rai shared, “I took them to court. Since Karan Johar had produced it, he asked for a meeting with Rohit [Shetty, director] and me. I was paid a settlement amount, and I then gave them permission to use the song.”
Rajiv Rai granted the rights of ‘Duniya Haseeno Ka Mela’, the hit song from ‘Gupt’ (1997), to Shah Rukh Khan, free of cost. The track was used in Aryan Khan’s debut series, ‘The Ba***ds of Bollywood’. At the time, Rai told mid-day, “It was for Shah Rukh’s son. How could I refuse?”
