Chennai: After being pulled from Netflix due to a copyright dispute, Ajith Kumar’s pan-India action film ‘Good Bad Ugly’ is now back on the streaming platform — but with key changes.

What is the change?

The film has been re-released minus three iconic songs by legendary composer Ilaiyaraaja, following a court order.

Why was it removed?

The film, directed by Aadik Ravichandran, was removed from the OTT platform on September 17 after Ilaiyaraaja filed a copyright infringement case. He alleged that his songs — “Otta Ruba Tharen,” “En Jodi Manja Kuruvi,” and “Ilamai Idho Idho” — were used in the film without his consent or a royalty agreement. The veteran composer also demanded ₹5 crore in compensation and a written apology from the producers.

What did the court say?

Responding to the legal challenge, the Madras High Court ordered the removal of the film from digital platforms if the songs remained part of the content. Justice N. Senthilkumar's ruling effectively barred the film’s distribution with Ilaiyaraaja’s work included.

As a result, Netflix took down the film — but it has now returned to the platform with the disputed tracks removed.

Good Bad Ugly

Released in theatres on April 10, Good Bad Ugly had a lukewarm run at the box office, managing to earn ₹212 crore against a reported production budget of ₹280 crore. The film started streaming on Netflix on May 8, but its OTT run was cut short due to the copyright controversy.

Despite its commercial struggles, Good Bad Ugly features an ensemble cast including Trisha, Arjun Das, Prasanna, Prabhu, and Sunil, and marked a genre shift for Ajith Kumar into darker, stylised action drama.