The legal saga surrounding Ajith Kumar’s film Good Bad Ugly (GBU) has taken another turn. The movie’s producers have formally requested the Madras High Court to annul an interim injunction issued on September 8, 2025. This order currently prohibits the production company from screening, distributing, or broadcasting the film with three specific songs originally composed by the legendary musician R. Ilaiyaraaja between 1982 and 1996.
On Wednesday, September 17, 2025, Justice N. Senthilkumar granted Ilaiyaraaja’s counsel, A. Saravanan, until September 24 to submit a counter-affidavit. This is in response to the vacate injunction petition filed by Telangana-based Mythri Movie Makers, the production house behind GBU. The initial ex-parte injunction was granted last week after the court noted that the production firm’s reply to the composer’s legal notice was inadequate.
The injunction has had significant repercussions, as senior counsel P.S. Raman, representing the producers, informed the judge. He highlighted that the film was subsequently taken down from Netflix, causing considerable financial and operational harm. Furthermore, Raman emphasized that removing the three songs from the movie isn’t a simple task, as such a change would necessitate a fresh censor certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
Raman asserted that the producers had acquired all necessary rights from the respective music companies that hold the copyrights for the songs. The tracks in question are Otha Ruba Tharen from the 1996 film Nattupura Pattu, starring Sivakumar; Ilamai Idho Idho from Kamal Haasan’s 1982 hit Sakalakala Vallavan; and En Jodi Manja Kuruvi from the 1986 movie Vikram, also featuring Kamal Haasan.
Challenging Ilaiyaraaja’s legal action, Raman questioned the urgency of the composer’s injunction request, especially since the film had already completed its theatrical run and was actively streaming on an OTT platform. He argued that Ilaiyaraaja primarily holds moral rights over songs composed after receiving due compensation.
The senior counsel also revealed that Mythri Movie Makers had previously filed a caveat on April 28, 2025, precisely to prevent Ilaiyaraaja from obtaining such an ex-parte order. This caveat, however, expired on July 25, 2025. Raman alleged that the acclaimed composer intentionally waited for the caveat to lapse before filing the current suit to secure an ex-parte interim injunction.
After carefully considering the arguments from both Raman and senior counsel P.V. Balasubramanian, who represented Ilaiyaraaja, Justice Senthilkumar granted the musician one week to submit his counter-affidavit regarding the petition to vacate the interim injunction.