Legal notice sent to halt streaming of AR Rahman’s ‘Karar Oi Louho Kabat’ rendition

The ongoing controversy over AR Rahman's rendition of Nazrul sangeet "Karar Oi Louho Kabat" has reached another height.

A legal notice has been sent to the government seeking the removal or halt of the streaming of the song, which was used in the Bollywood movie "Pippa", from all social media, OTT, and streaming platforms in Bangladesh immediately.

The notice was served on Sunday by lawyers Humayun Kabir and Md Kawsar on behalf of the human rights organisation "Law and Life Foundation Trust" and 10 Supreme Court lawyers that included Bayezid Hossain, Naim Ali Sarder, Md Solaiman Tushar, Mahadi Zaman, Ahmed Farzad, Mohammad Shahidul Islam, Shahid Siddique, and Anas Miah.

The notice was sent to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the secretary of the Information and Communication Technology Division, and the chairman of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission.

It accused AR Rahman of "distorting" the original composition of the classic song, which was originally written and composed by Bangladesh's National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.

The notice mentioned that if the AR Rahman's rendition of the song is not removed from online platforms immediately after receiving the notice, a public interest writ will be filed with Bangladesh's Supreme Court seeking directions.

The notice also added, "The revolutionary song is our intellectual property and therefore should be preserved in its original composition."

The song was written as a protest against English colonisers in India. It is considered one of the most famous protest songs penned in the Bangla language.