Rs 1 Crore Suit filed against Rangabati Fusion Makers and Singers

In a shocking development, a massive online campaign has been unleashed against the fusion version of Odia folk song ‘Rangabati’, which was telecast on MTV Coke Studio. Singer Sona Mohapatra is being condemned as a ‘Cultural Murderer’ by some intellectuals and the so-called patrons of Odia tradition and culture, who did not raise a single voice when the ‘Brahma Fiasco’ happened.

Thanks to the online campaign against the fusion version of song, Lyricist of the original song, Mitrabhanu Gauntia and Music Director Prabhudatta Pradhan have filed a defamation suit worth Rs 1 crore against Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd, Hindustan Coca Cola Holdings Pvt Ltd, Viacom 18 Media Pvt Ltd, singer Sona Mohapatra, musician Ram Sampath and co-singer Rituraj Mohanty.

They have served a legal notices to the above party for reproduction of the song without permission and infringement of copyright. The legal notice was served by Supreme Court lawyer Sagar Kumar Pradhan. The complainants have sought Rs 1 crore within 15 days and warned of strong legal action if that does not happen.

It would be interesting to see how the court sees this case, as the song was not reproduced and sold for commercial purpose. It was just sung on a TV series. It has already received over 4 lakh hits on YouTube since its release on July 3, 2015. The viewership is likely to surge, thanks to the controversy.

The ‘Rangabati’ song was mixed with ‘Vande Utkal Janani’ by Music Director Ram Sampath. While Sona bewitched the audience with ‘Rangabati’, Rituraj sang ‘Vande Utkal Janani’ to make them emotional. Rajesh and Tony did their part with the Tamil rap, which also went well with the viewers.

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