AR Rahman Agrees In Supreme Court To Acknowledge Dagar Brothers' 'Shiv Stuti' Performance In 'Veera Raja' Song

Music composer AR Rahman on Friday agreed before the Supreme Court to acknowledge the 'Shiva Stuti' performance of the Junior Dagar brothers in the 'Veera Raja Veera' song of Tamil film Ponniyin Selvan II.

Rahman and the makers of the film agreed to add the following line in the credits of the song :

"Composition inspired from the Dagarwani tradition Dhrupad, first recorded as 'Shiv Stuti' by late Ustad Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar and Ustad Nasir Zahiruddin Dagar, popularly known as Junior Dagar brothers. "

The concession has been made without prejudice to the issues to be decided in the copyright infringement suit filed by the successor of the Dagar brothers, Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar, against Rahman and the makers of Ponniyin Selvan II.

Recording the concession made by Rahman, the Court directed that the modification in the song credits be reflected in all social media and OTT platforms within 5 weeks. 

Last week, the Supreme Court, noting that Rahman has already acknowledged that the song was from the Dagarwani tradition, had asked if it could be further acknowledged that the song was first performed by the predecessors of the petitioner.

Today, Senior Advocate Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, for Rahman, informed the bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi, that he has accepted to acknowledge the performance of the Dagar brothers. Singhvi added that this is without prejudice to the contest in the main suit.

Singhvi also took objection to the media reports about the hearing last week, which portrayed that Rahman has suffered a set back from the Court. The bench said that it cannot control how different outlets report the proceedings.

The Court clarified that the suit shall proceed without being influenced by any observation made by the Court. With these observations, the Court disposed of the petition filed by Wasifuddin Dagar against the Delhi High Court division bench's order, which set aside the single bench's injunction order passed against Rehman and other defendants.

Dagar has alleged that the Tamil composition was an infringement of the 'Shiva Stuti' composed in the Dagar tradition. In April 2025, a single bench of the High Court passed an interim order directing Rahman and the makers of the film to give credits to the Dagar brothers for the song and to deposit Rs 2 crores as security. In September 2025, a division bench of the High Court set aside the interim injunction order.

Background

The case arose from the use of a classical Dhrupad composition “Shiva Stuti” in the Tamil film song “Veera Raja Veera” composed by A.R. Rahman for the film Ponniyin Selvan 2.

The controversy arose after the film's theatrical release on April 28, 2023. Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar alleged that protectable portions of “Shiva Stuti”, a composition attributed to the late junior Dagar Brothers had been included in the song without any authorisation.

According to Faiyaz, Shiva Stuti was jointly composed by the late Ustad Faiyazuddin Dagar and late Ustad Zahiruddin Dagar in the 1970s as part of the Dagarvani tradition of Hindustani classical music. The composition was first publicly fixed and recorded during a performance at the Royal Tropical Institute at Amsterdam on June 22, 1978 and later published through commercial recordings. Dagar claimed that copyright and moral rights in the composition devolved upon him after a family settlement following the demise of the original composers.

Dagar further alleged that two of his disciples who later participated in the recording of Veera Raja Veera had shared the composition with A.R. Rahman without consent. He argued that the song reproduced the core melodic structure, Swara patterns, rhythm cycle and emotional expression of Shiva Stuti, amounting to infringement of both copyright and moral rights. When no resolution was in sight, Ustad filed a commercial suit before the Delhi High Court in 2023, seeking injunctions, recognition of moral rights, damages and attribution. On April 25, 2025, a single judge bench of the court partly allowed interim relief, directing correction of credits, deposit of Rs. 2 crores as security and payment of costs.

Aggrieved by the order, A.R. Rahman filed an appeal before the division bench of the high court. The appeal questioned the findings on originality, authorship, and the grant of final relief at an interlocutory stage. The division bench set aside and modified portions of the single judge's interim order, including the direction requiring a Rs 2 crore deposit and certain observations that effectively amounted to final findings. At the same time, the court did not fully accept Rahman's case and clarified that all issues relating to authorship, originality and infringement would be decided at trial. Aggrieved by the vacation and dilution of interim relief, Dagar has approached the Supreme Court

Case Details : USTAD FAIYAZ WASIFUDDIN DAGAR Versus A.R. RAHMAN AND ORS.| SLP(C) No. 4742/2026