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`Pirates' to face Devarajan's music

Vinson Kurian

PARAVOOR G. Devarajan, the septuagenarian bard of Malayalam theatre and moviedom who signed off from the scene in the late eighties disgusted at what he described as the ``degenerative trends'' in the trade, has sounded a note of caution to ``all concern ed'' by declaring publicly his intention to brave poor health and take head-on those very elements who he says are guilty of orchestrating the atrophy.

Devarajan, one of the most plagiarised original composers of his time, sees himself playing the role of the Pied Piper who will ``one day expose and pack off the dreadful creatures infesting the bowels of the Malayalam filmscape feasting on original musi cal scores and showing themselves up overground only to disgorge pirated versions which they steadfastly and shamelessly claim as their own''.

In what, for all practical purposes, is the such first instance in the world of Indian music industry, Devarajan Master, as he is reverentially addressed by his innumerable fans, is claiming rights for the scores of original music rendered by him in the 60s and 70s whose lilting melody continue to haunt generations of music aficionados in Kerala -- and which, paradoxically enough, has earned him the unenviable title of the most wronged composer of his time.

The veteran music director fired the first salvo recently

by filing a civil suit at the Ernakulam Munsiff Court against five cassette companies which have allegedly reproduced his creations without prior consent. The suit assumes significance in the context of rearguard action mounted the world over by artistes and writers against frequent incidence of infringement on ownership rights to original creations.

Devarajan hopes he would be joined in by his equally wronged peers. But, the fiercely independent person that he is, he could not care less.

Such unabashed copyright violation, a combative Devarajan swears, is unheard of in other realms of art or literature. What concerns him most is that the melodious numbers painstakingly composed by him are being reproduced as if on assembly line by casset te companies sending the cash registers ringing at the marketplace but without the original composer being any the wiser or any better, ``materially speaking!''

These companies have mushroomed all over the State and have been able to lay their hands on almost all of popular Devarajan numbers of the sixties, seventies and eighties. Several hundreds of such cassettes and CDs are being illegally produced and distri buted with his name and photograph. He has since sought an interim injunction against such distribution and the court has ordered notice to the defendants.

``When these companies are raking a fortune by selling the pirated versions, the creators are being deprived of their due. The rights to a creation vests solely with the owner and no one can reproduce it without his prior consent during his lifetime and 60 years hence as per the Copyright Act. Still, the companies are carrying on merrily, unrestrained and unopposed,'' says Devarajan. The Copyright Act also has provisions pertaining to the moral right of the creator to seek to prevent distortion and muti lation of his works.

The decision to launch the suit was not spontaneous, but after considered thought and discussions with people who have associated with Devarajan. His argument is that though he has given the right to a producer to feature his song for a particular film, the original copyright continues to vest with him. The producer cannot deem to have had the composer's concurrence to produce cassettes or CDs of the songs for which he has not been remunerated.

All creative artistes including music composers have registered their names with the Performing Rights Society based in England and one has to secure the society's consent by remitting a prescribed sum for reproducing a work of the listed artistes. The s ociety accounts the sum in the name of the artiste concerned and periodically sends him his share. The society has a functional arm based in Mumbai, the Indian Performing Rights Society Limited (IPRL), set up under the provisions of Section 33 of the Cop yright Act.

Devarajan is arguably the most prolific among the music directors in Malayalam. According to a rough estimate, during the two decades between 1960 and 1980, leading playback singer K.J. Jesudas alone must have rendered almost 500 film songs set to tune b y Devarajan. The number would be more or less the same in the case of other playback singers too. Adding to these are the scores of songs he has composed for professional drama troupes across the State.

The drama songs, especially of the Kerala People's Arts Club or KPAC as it is better known, were a rage among the masses and even now a number of cassettes of drama songs are being released frequently. Devarajan's suit is likely to give an impetus to the film fraternity also which finds itself facing the threat of video piracy.

Picture: Paravoor G.Devarajan