Kantara on Prime: ‘Bring back original Varaha Roopam’ say netizens, as film drops new version of the controversial song

Kantara is finally streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Fans had been waiting with bated breath to watch the ‘divine’ blockbuster yet again, but have now been left disappointed as the film “is lacking its soul - the original Varaha Roopam”. The film, which is streaming now in Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu, has a new composition playing at the end of the film. Those who have seen Kantara on the big screen will know just how perfect the earlier version of the song was and how good it sounded in a theatre. The new one has been introduced owing to the ongoing copyright dispute with Malayalam band Thaikkudam Bridge, which has claimed that Varaha Roopam has been copied from their song Navarasam. Two Kerala courts had stopped the makers Hombale Films, the producers of Kantara, from putting music director Ajaneesh’s version of the song on streaming platforms. It was expected that Hombale Films would get into an agreement with Thaikkudam Bridge before the film drops on Amazon Prime Video, but looks like that is still up in the air.

Kantara is currently trending on social media not just since it is finally on OTT, but also because fans want the “original Varaha Roopam” back in the film. Here’s some of what they are saying…

“#KantaraOnPrime Feel this bgm,🔥 but new version is 😡🤮 varaha roopam theatre version was materpeice, please try to add this song or remove the movie from Amazon prime.#varaharoopam”
– Ajay Kumar

“@shetty_rishab please bring back #varaharoopam song, disappointed with the ott version!!! #KantaraOnPrime This songs and the bgm hits very hard because of this we went for the theatres for many times now they not having this version Big disappointment💔#Kantara
- Charan

#KantaraOnPrime will disappoint you for sure when it comes to music. Without #varaharoopam original song. At least give them original rights and retain the song and release it once again in prime .. This is really a bad move @shetty_rishab. International level recognition will miss. - Madhav

Since the controversy surrounding Varaha Roopam broke, music composer B Ajaneesh Loknath has been asserting that he has not copied the entire arrangement of Navarasam, but admitted to being inspired by the song. While most netizens agree that there are similarities between the songs, they have been divided over whether it is a copy and if Thaikkudam Bridge's copyright claim was justified. Now that a new version of Varaha Roopam is in the film, the request is to Hombale Films to pay a royalty and ensure that the disputed version can be played on OTT as well.