Makers of Chiru’s Film Shell Out Massive Amount For Ilaiyaraaja Song

Nostalgia music is quickly becoming a big bait to get audiences into movie theatres. One of the USPs of Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar is the old hit songs which spur the action.

But getting these vintage songs is not easy, or cheap. That’s what the makers of the new Chiranjeevi starrer Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu discovered when they wanted to use the song Sundari in it. Composed by Ilaiyaraaja, this chartbuster featured originally in Mani Ratnam’s Dalapathi in 1991, and was filmed on Rajinikanth and Shobana.

To acquire the rights for the song, the Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu producers had to pay approximately `1 crore.

Justifying the staggering cost, a source close to the transaction says, “See how much Ilaiyaraaja’s song had added to the footfalls for Chiranjeevi’s film.”

Indications are that the trend of incorporating vintage songs in Telugu and Hindi films will dominate in 2026.