Why Was Ilaiyaraaja’s Name Removed From All Promotional Materials Of ‘Mrs. and Mr.’ Movie?

Music composer R. Ilaiyaraaja’s name has been removed from all promotional materials related to the Tamil movie Mrs. and Mr., Vanitha Film Productions informed the Madras High Court on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. The move came following a civil suit filed by the maestro to restrain the producers from exploiting his personality rights for the film’s promotion.

During the hearing, the court recorded the submission by Sridhar Moorthy, counsel for Vanitha Film Productions, that Ilaiyaraaja’s name had been removed from the promotional content posted on Instagram and other platforms. According to The Hindu, Ilaiyaraaja’s counsel, A. Saravanan, argued that using the composer’s name in the film’s advertisements was a clear case of misrepresentation since Ilaiyaraaja was not associated with the film’s music composition.

Ilaiyaraaja’s Files Civil Suit Against Mrs. and Mr.

The issue arose because the producers had used one of Ilaiyaraaja’s iconic songs, “Sivarathri,” originally composed for the 1990 Kamal Haasan film Michael Madana Kama Rajan, in Mrs. and Mr. without his permission. The promotional materials not only credited him but also implied that Ilaiyaraaja was the music composer for the new movie, which was misleading to the public. Ilaiyaraaja sought a court order for the immediate removal of the song from the film, a permanent injunction preventing the use of his personality rights in promotion, and disclosure of any profits made from exploiting his name and work.

The composer submitted two interim applications along with the main lawsuit, with one requesting the removal of the song from the film, and the other seeking a prohibition on screening, distributing, or broadcasting the movie featuring the contested song.

Mrs. and Mr. Makers Respond

In response, Vanitha Film Productions pointed out that Ilaiyaraaja had incorrectly named Vanitha Vijayakumar as the film’s producer in his suit, while promotional materials list Jovika Vijayakumar as the actual producer. Additionally, the production counsel stated that Sony Music Entertainment, which holds the rights to the song “Sivarathri,” should be included as a defendant in the case. According to The News Minute, their legal counsel said that Sony Music holds the rights to over 4,850 Ilaiyaraaja compositions, along with Sivarathri.

The court granted Ilaiyaraaja time until August 18, 2025, to amend the case title and include Sony Music as a party.

This petition is the latest in a string of legal actions initiated by the legendary music composer. Ilaiyaraaja had issued similar injunction notices to the producers of the Rajinikanth starrer Coolie (2025), Good Bad Ugly (2025), and Manjummel Boys (2024) for the unauthorized use of his iconic songs.

 

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About Mrs. and Mr. movie

The Mrs. and Mr. movie, directed by Vanitha Vijayakumar, was released on July 11, 2025. It features music composed by Srikanth Deva and not Ilaiyaraaja. Along with direction, Vanitha Vijayakumar also stars in the movie along with Robert, Shakeela, Aarthi Ganeshkar, Srinivasan, Ambika, Sriman, and Ganeshkar. The romantic adult comedy is produced by Vanitha’s daughter Jovika.

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