There is a line between inspiration, coincidence and plagiarism in the film industry. When it comes to music, the line becomes thin or thick depending on how smart you are or how desperate a nitpicker you seem. Social media is brimming with allegations on Santhosh Narayanan that a particular background score in Madras sounds quite similar to Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer’s ‘Time’ piece in Christopher Nolan’s Inception. Without batting an eyelid, Santhosh Narayanan took the plagiarism accusations head-on and cleared the air with the following post on Facebook. It’s so heartening to see a young composer take plagiarism allegations on social media seriously and give explanations in the same breath. Hope others take cue from Santhosh!
“I have been getting a few enquiries about a musical piece sounding similar / exactly like TIME from inception by hans zimmer. i shall be uploading my score in a few hours or less here on FB for expert analysis”
Minutes, he uploaded the score on his SoundCloud account as promised.
“Here is the Score from Madras The Movie as promised. It is very encouraging to note that musical cues and bg score themes are being dissected and discussed with so much detail these days in the social media. We take plagiarism quite seriously and I would love to clarify on any of my works on this space or through a private message. I am humbled by the kind of love and support from all of you over the years and will keep updating about our new works and releases here,” posted Santhosh Narayanan!
Santhosh Narayanan’s score from Madras
Hans Zimmer’s score from Inception