Ilaiyaraaja skips visit to Prasad Studio, will get his chamber vacated, says spokesperson

Music maestro Ilaiyaraaja, who is in the middle of a legal tiff with Prasad Studio, was supposed to collect his belongings from the studio premises on 28 December. However, according to a report in The Times of India, the composer seemed to have decided to skip the visit altogether. Ilaiyaraaja’s spokesperson, who had arrived in the morning, informed media that the composer was not going to come to the studio. According to the report, the vehicles hired by the composer, however, entered the premises and are slated to bring back his musical equipment. The Madras Court had granted a day’s access to the composer to the premises to mediate and collect his belongings from there. Earlier, Prasad Studios had issued a statement saying they will not allow the composer to enter the premises, despite the Madras HC asking the music legend and the management to reach a civil solution. Trouble first brewed between the two when Ilaiyaraaja filed a case against Prasad Studios demanding Rs 50 lakh in compensation for allegedly getting rid of his musical instruments, damaging equipment and taking his music notes from the recording studio without his permission. According to The Indian Express, in his police complaint, Ilaiyaraaja had alleged that during the COVID-19 lockdown, some people entered his room without permission at the behest of Sai Prasad, who is in charge of the studio, and removed all his valuables. He further claimed that the founder of the studio, LV Prasad had granted him possession of Theatre-1 as a mark of respect for his work, and the same arrangement continued after his passing, under the ownership of the founder’s son Ramesh Prasad.