Ajith Kumar’s film Good Bad Ugly has been removed from Netflix India following a court order that prohibited the use of songs composed by Ilaiyaraaja without permission.
The film, which premiered on May 8 in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam on the streaming platform, is no longer available. When users search for it, they see the message, “Oops we haven't got that. Try searching for another movie, show, actor, director, or genre.”
The development comes after the Madras High Court last week barred the film’s producers, Mythri Movie Makers, from using three of Ilaiyaraaja’s popular songs due to copyright violations.
The court’s decision followed a legal notice sent by Ilaiyaraaja in April, in which he accused the producers of using altered versions of his songs without his consent. The songs in question — Ottha Ruba Tharen, En Jodi Manja Kuruvi, and Ilamai Idho Idho — were used without proper authorisation.
In his notice, Ilaiyaraaja demanded ₹5 crore in compensation and requested the immediate removal of the songs from the film. Subsequently, Justice N Senthilkumar ruled that the songs should not be exhibited as part of the film.
Despite the ruling, producer Yalamanchili Ravi Shankar of Mythri Movie Makers previously told Hindustan Times, “We have taken permission from all the music labels required for the songs we used in the film. The labels hold the rights, so we have followed protocol and taken NOCs from them. We have done things by the book.”
Good Bad Ugly, directed by Adhik Ravichandran, also features Trisha Krishnan, Arjun Das, Prabhu, Prasanna, and Jackie Shroff in key roles. The film marked Ajith’s return to the action genre and earned more than ₹248 crore globally at the box office.