When Asha Bhosle, Suresh Wadkar and Ulhas Buyao sing in the court...

Sandesh Prabhudesai
4 December 1999 

It was a great feeling to hear famous singers Asha Bhosle and Suresh Wadkar in the court … the real court, not on the sets of a court room erected to shoot a film.

The whole legal battle of a famous Konkani song of late 60s – chanyache rati (in the night with a moonlight) – boiled down to the judge actually listening to the singers in the court room.

Ulhas Buyao, Goa's famous singer who is a litigant here, still pulls crowds when he sings chanyache rati. The same song is sung once again by Asha and Wadkar in the album Daryachya Deger (On the seashore) released by Shrushti Vision of Goa.

Claiming copyright of the song, Buyao filed a case in June 1996 demanding injunction on the sale and distribution of the cassette which contains the same song. Rajendra Talak of Shrushti Vision, on the other hand, claims that Buyao had sold its copyrights to Gramophone India.

While Buyao claims that he had composed its music, Adv Uday Bhembre, the lyricist of the song and also a journalist, has submitted before the court that it was his music composition which Buyao sung during the Opinion Poll which ultimately restrained the centre from merging Goa into Maharashtra.

After listening to the arguments at various sittings for the last three years, V P Shetye, the district and sessions judge, finally agreed to listen to both the songs personally in the court room.

It would be a memorable day for the court room which was full with people as well as lawyers from the bar room to listen to Buyao of 60s and Asha and Wadkar of 90s. Perhaps it was the first time that the music was heard there instead of stereotyped legal arguments.

Talak played the cassette, obviously on a modern cassette player. But to play the LP record of 60s, Buyao had to arrange a gramophone, which is seldom found nowadays gathering dust in somebody's showcase.

After listening to Asha and Wadkar, who are also being made respondents in the case, as well as singer Buyao, the court is now expected to deliver its judgement by 21 December.

Your Comments Please