‘AR Rahman has been a pillar of support’: Santhosh Narayanan on ‘Enjoy Enjaami’ remuneration issue

Santhosh added that Rahman is “also a victim of false promises and malice”

March 06, 2024 05:42 pm | Updated 05:43 pm IST

AR Rahman and Santhosh Narayanan

AR Rahman and Santhosh Narayanan | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

On Tuesday, music composer Santhosh Narayanan took to his social media handles to reveal that Arivu, Dhee and himself — the artists behind the viral song ‘Enjoy Enjaami’ — have not been remunerated by the music label Maajja, even after three years since the release of the song. The post created quite a stir on social media, especially since Maajja is a record label co-founded by veteran music composer AR Rahman.

Today, Santhosh once again took to social media to clarify that Rahman has been “a pillar of support without any expectations through the entire Maajja fiasco,” and that the Oscar-winner is “also a victim of false promises and malice.”

“Many indie artists including Arivu, Svdp, Dhee and many others including myself have also never been remitted our revenues in any form and have been bullied with emails. I understand that emotions are high and would urge you all to support the indie artists in this juncture,” read the note posted by Santhosh.

Further, Santhosh also added that he would also issue clarifications on the controversy that had erupted in 2021 due to the alleged sidelining of rapper Arivu from the success of ‘Enjoy Enjaami’ and ‘Neeye Oli’

“I will definitely triple click on the entire episode with my mentor @beemji and rapper @Arivubeing in the coming days and as many of you know, I wish the best for them with love and want to make sure all indie artists get their fare dues met soon. Here we come,” read the post

‘Enjoy Enjaami’ is written and sung by lyricist Arivu along with Dhee while the single was composed and arranged by Santhosh. The song has cumulatively garnered over a billion streams across multiple paltforms.

In the video that he shared on Tuesday, Santhosh said that Maajja approached them promising 100 per cent of the rights, revenues and royalties from the song but the three artists involved (him along with Dhee and Arivu) have not made any revenue from it till now. He added that their efforts to get a response from the label have failed.

Santhosh further revealed that he is now planning on starting his own label so that indie artists can have a “smooth and transparent platform to publish their work and earn revenue.” He concluded the video by stating that his YouTube account had also been taken down and he promised the indie artists that their dues would be covered soon. 

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