FIR against Kannada actor-filmmaker Rakshit Shetty over alleged copyright violation

The complaint was filed against Shetty and his production house by Naveen Kumar, who is a partner at MRT Music.

Kannada actor-filmmaker Rakshit Shetty.

Credit: Instagram/rakshitshetty

Bengaluru: Kannada film star Rakshit Shetty has been named in a police case over the "unauthorised" use of two songs in the film Bachelor Party, produced by his firm Paramvah Studios. 

Naveen Kumar, co-owner of MRT Music, lodged a complaint against Shetty and Paramvah Studios for "illegally" using Nyaya Yellide? from the 'Nyaya Yellide film and Omme Ninnannu from the Gaali Maatu film. According to Kumar, MRT Music holds the rights to both songs. 

The rights to both songs are held by MRT Music. 

"Paramvah Studios and its owner, Shetty, approached us through one Rajesh for using two of our songs in their movie (Bachelor Party) in January 2024. But we couldn’t strike a deal,” Kumar told the police. 

Kumar claimed that when Bachelor Party was released on an OTT platform in March, he discovered that both songs were used without authorisation. 

Following Kumar’s complaint, Yeshwantpur police have booked Shetty and Paramvah Studios under Section 63 of the Copyrights Act. 
 
A police officer overseeing the investigation told DH that notices had been served on Shetty but he was yet to furnish a response. 

In 2016, Bengaluru-based legacy music company Lahari Music accused Paramvah Studios of copyright violations. It claimed Shetty’s blockbuster film Kirik Party used their Hey Who are You? song from the 1991 film Shanthi Kranthi without its permission. The issue was resolved in 2021.