Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashri has denied >allegations by the Irayimman Thampi Smaraka Trust at Varanadu, near Cherthala in Kerala, that the first eight lines of the song ‘ >Pi’s Lullaby’ sung by her in the film ‘Life of Pi’ are a word-by-word translation into Tamil of the popular lullaby ‘ >Omanathinkal Kidavo …’ in Malayalam by the poet Irayimman Thampi.
Reacting to the allegations, Ms Jayashri said that she only wrote whatever came to her heart.
“I can only say that I wrote whatever that came to my heart,” Ms Jayashri told PTI at her Chennai residence.
According to Irayimman Thampi Trust chairman, N Krishna Varma and secretary Rukmini Bhai Thampuratti, Ms Jayashri’s song was a “mere translation of the Malayalam verse into Tamil.”
“Jayashri has copied the first eight lines of Irayimman Thampi’s lullaby which has passed on to generations and is the greatest among the lullabies of the past, present and the future,” Rukmini Bhai Thampuratti told reporters at Cherthala.
Ms Jayashri is the only Indian nominated at the Oscars this year. The award ceremony is set to be held on February 24 in Los Angeles.
The Trust has threatened to take legal action against Ms Jayashri if she did not come out with an explanation about her song and its “striking similarity” to Thampi’s composition.
“We will not allow the copying of a song just for the sake of getting an award,” Mr Varma said.
