Trimurti Films has moved the Bombay High Court alleging illegal remix and use of the iconic song “Saat Samundar Paar” in the upcoming film Tu Meri Main Tera. The production house has sought Rs 10 crore damages and an injunction ahead of the film’s December 25 release.
Trimurti Films Pvt Ltd has moved the Bombay High Court against filmmaker Karan Johar’s production house Dharma Productions, alleging copyright infringement of the famous 1992 song “Saat Samundar Paar” from the film Vishwatma.
The dispute relates to the alleged use and remix of the song in the upcoming Hindi film Tu Meri Main Tera, which is scheduled for release on December 25.
In its suit, Trimurti Films has sought Rs 10 crore in damages and a permanent injunction to restrain the defendants from using the song, including its tune and lyrics, in the film or in any other form of exploitation, remix or adaptation.
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Trimurti has also requested the court to stop the release, exhibition, broadcast or communication of the film to the extent it contains the allegedly infringing song.
The suit has been filed against Dharma Productions and Namah Pictures Pvt Ltd, the producers of the film, along with Saregama India Ltd, the music label, and rapper-composer Aditya Prateek Singh, popularly known as Badshah, who is stated to be associated with the remix.
The matter was listed before Justice Sharmila Deshmukh, who granted time to the defendants to file their replies. The High Court will hear the matter again on December 22, when it will consider whether urgent interim reliefs should be granted.
According to Trimurti Films, it is the first owner of copyright of the film Vishwatma and all its songs, including “Saat Samundar Paar”.
The production house has claimed that all rights in the musical work, literary work and sound recording vest exclusively with Trimurti, including the right to incorporate the song or any part of it into a cinematograph film.
The plaint states that Trimurti had entered into an agreement in 1990 with The Gramophone Company of India Ltd, the predecessor of Saregama India Ltd.
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However, according to Trimurti, this agreement only assigned limited rights related to reproduction and distribution of the original sound recording and did not include any right to modify, adapt or create derivative works from the song.
Trimurti has specifically argued that the agreement did not permit synchronization, remixing or embedding the song into another cinematograph film. Emphasising this point, the plaint states:
“The agreement did not confer any right to grant the said song a new identity or character by embedding it within a different cinematograph film, nor to alter, modify or adapt the original work in a manner that results in its transformation or recontextualisation. Any such use amounts to an unauthorised alteration and distortion of the original work undertaken without the consent of the authors of the underlying works,”
the plaint stated.
The production house has further stated that in early December 2025, it came to know about the alleged infringement after seeing promotional content related to Tu Meri Main Tera on social media platforms.
According to Trimurti, Instagram posts published by Dharma Productions, Namah Pictures and Saregama used the tune of “Saat Samundar Paar”, and the promotional posters showed Badshah as the artist.
The plaint also refers to media reports suggesting that the defendants were “remixing” the iconic song for inclusion in the film, even though no licence or permission was ever obtained from Trimurti Films for such use.
Alleging deliberate misuse of its reputation, Trimurti stated that the defendants falsely represented that they had rights over the song. Highlighting this, the plaint says:
“Such misrepresentation has been done deliberately so as to ride upon the reputation and goodwill of Trimurti.Such wrongful actions amount to tort of passing off and unfair trade practices and are actionable as a civil wrong”,
the plaint filed through Advocates Rashmi Singh & Karan Khiani highlighted.
Apart from claiming Rs 10 crore in damages, Trimurti has alternatively sought a decree for rendition of accounts and payment of profits earned by the defendants from the alleged infringing use of the song.
Senior Advocate Venkatesh Dhond, along with Advocate Hiren Kamod, appeared for Trimurti Films Pvt Ltd.
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Senior Advocate Birendra Saraf, along with Advocates Parag Khandhar and Chandrima Das, instructed by DSK Legal, appeared on behalf of Dharma Productions.
Senior Advocate Veerendra Tulzapurkar appeared for Saregama India Ltd.
The Bombay High Court will now consider whether interim relief should be granted when the matter comes up for further hearing on December 22.
Case Title:
Trimurti Films v. Dharma Productions & Ors
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