Kalki 2898 AD composer Santosh Narayanan and singer Arivu have once again clashed online as the viral song Enjoy Enjaami completes five years of its release. The controversy started when a user on X (formerly Twitter) shared a clip of the song and described it as “a Tamil indie album that broke boundaries, went global and ruled the lockdown days.” Another user reposted the clip and alleged that Dhee and her father had “stole” the track from Arivu.
Santosh Narayanan Responding on social media, it said that information about the song is already publicly available for anyone interested in watching it. He said that Enjoy Enjaami was conceived by singer Dhee, who also contributed some tunes, while director Manikandan developed the main story while he was working on Kadaisi Vivasayi.
The composer stated that he composed, composed and composed the song’s tunes, while Arivu wrote most of the lyrics and performed the track, as well as adapting some of the traditional Opari lines. Santosh further clarified that he had merely suggested the word “Enjaami”, as he often does with words in his songs, and concluded that in the digital age, every claim can and should be proven.
Arivu also reacted to the issue and blamed the musician. Jan Naygan The singer explained that the beat for Enjoy Enjaami was sent to him, after which he “wrote almost all the words”, composed the lead vocals, and performed the lyrics based on his cultural history and lived experiences.
He said that music is collaborative, but credit and compensation should be fair. Arivu explained that although the song was shot in his village and based on the stories of his land and people, he was only credited as a “special artist” despite writing the entire song and composing the main tune.
Arivu further said that he did not understand the implications of this at the time, but five years later, the collaborators retained the rights and received royalties, while he received neither payment nor ownership for his work. Arivu concludes that the issue is not one of sympathy but of fair credit, rights and dignity of labour.
Later, the composer and singer continued the online debate about the song, its origins and rights through a series of tweets.
Here are the posts:
Santosh Narayanan is currently working on his next film Seyon Sivakarthikeyan. Directed by Shivakumar Murugesan of Thai Kizhavi fame, the film will be directed by Kamal Haasan. Apart from this, the musician also has Kalki 2898 AD: Part 2 in his lineup.
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