Saif pays the fee for ‘Agent Vinod’, literally

Apparently, the producers of Agent Vinod needed to monetarily atone for the old songs they used without permission

In Saif Ali Khan's recently released spy-thriller Agent Vinod, several old songs apparently were used without due permission from the producers or the labels that own the rights to the soundtracks.

This has led to Saif and his co-producers having to cough up extra cash, much more than they might have had to, had they adhered to the regulations.

Three songs specifically were utilized in the film Aasmaan Pe Hai Khuda from Ramesh Saigal's Phir Subah Hogi (1958), Meri Jaan Maine Kaha from Ramesh Behl's The Train and Rakamma from Mani Ratnam's Thalapathi (1991).

A well-placed industry source tells us that greater than the money, it was the credit that wasn't given. "Not acknowledging the creators and owners of the songs is disrespectful towards them.

It's all about going the best way to do things. Besides, its in regards to the business of creating movies, not recovering royalties from the music utilized in the background."

Director Sriram Raghavan maintains that he had already conveyed to the producers that they'd need the specified permissions. "That's how I've worked before, for Johnny Gaddaar too. I BELIEVE there could have been some miscommunication. The producers were following up with the process, " he explains.

Shrishti Behl Arya, daughter of late Ramesh Behl, recalls being surprised while watching the film. "THE OVERALL practice is to take due permission.

Though we're happy that individuals pay homage to our films, on the same time, the work my father has done also needs to be respected. So yes, R D Burman, who composed the music, and the producer have to be credited in any case credits, " she states.

However, nobody from the label owning the music of The Train was willing to come back on record for the story.

On the opposite hand, Apurv Nagpal, CEO of the opposite label, says that once someone doesn't take permission to make use of their songs, they need to pay more afterwards. However he says, "THE PROBLEM was sorted out amicably."

A spokesperson from the corporate that presented the film maintains that there has been no such issue. "We sought the permission for Rasputin earlier on. So why wouldn't we take permissions for the opposite songs?" he retorted.

Courtesy: Mid-Day.com