A fresh public dispute has erupted between rapper Arivu and music composer Santhosh Narayanan over the authorship, ownership and credit for the viral 2021 Tamil song “Enjoy Enjaami.” The exchange unfolded on social media after a user accused singer Dhee and her stepfather Santhosh Narayanan of “stealing” the song from Arivu, reigniting a controversy that first surfaced in 2022.
The issue started when a handle shared a clipping of the popular song. This led to someone accusing the singer Dhee and Santhosh of ‘stealing’ the song from Arivu.
Dhee and her dad literally went ahead and stole this song from Arivu anna https://t.co/hRGsZX266w
— ArunAnnow (@ArunAnnow) March 12, 2026
This led to Santhosh responding to the allegations explaining who gets the credit, “Konjam rest edunga thambi. Some useful info already available everywhere if you only look for it . This song idea was conceived by Dhee and also has some of her tunes in it . The core storyline and concept of the song was done by director Manikandan who was working on Kadaisi Vivasayi with me at the time. I composed , produced and created all the melodies in the song . Arivu wrote almost all the words and also performed . Some traditional Oppari lines were also adapted by Arivu.. I only suggested the word Enjaami like I always suggest for most of my songs like Rakitaa , Kanimaa etc. Thankfully we live in a digital domain and every claim can and should be proven.”
Konjam rest edunga thambi. Some useful info already available everywhere if you only look for it . This song idea was conceived by Dhee and also has some of her tunes in it . The core storyline and concept of the song was done by director Manikandan who was working on Kadaisi… https://t.co/MTW4JiNwMf
— Santhosh Narayanan (@Music_Santhosh) March 13, 2026
Replying to a comment asking Naraynanan to ask Arivu to belt out another hit, he said, “I think it is unfair to expect someone to prove their worth as proof for something else completely. Having said that it is very sad that the guy jumped on a stupid political
bandwagon after the song started to get extremely popular , which we did never expected in the first place. Slowly the narratives started shifting in interviews . I have many before / after interview clips which can be part of a nice standup comedy routine “
I think it is unfair to expect someone to prove their worth as proof for something else completely. Having said that it is very sad that the guy jumped on a stupid political
bandwagon after the song started to get extremely popular , which we did never expected in the first…— Santhosh Narayanan (@Music_Santhosh) March 13, 2026
In this situation, Arivu, the rapper who was at the centre of the controversy wrote a long thread saying, “For clarity regarding “Enjoy Enjaami” (released 5 years ago):
The beat was sent to me. I wrote the lyrics, composed the main vocal melody and performed the song based on my own cultural history and lived experience. Music is collaborative. But credit and compensation must also be fair. The song was shot in my village, with stories from my land and my people. I shared that history believing it would reach the masses. But I was placed only as a “featuring artist” — despite writing the full song and composing the main melody. Back then I did not understand what that meant. Five years later, the collaborators hold the rights and receive royalties, while I received no payment and no ownership for my work. This is not about sympathy.
It is about credit, rights and dignity of labour. Independent artists: protect your work.
Have agreements. Know your rights.
– Arivu
Valliamma Perandi.”
Santhosh Narayanan, the producer of the song, responded reminding Arivu that he had blocked him a while ago, “You can have your own opinions man. Pretty much every single one of your technical/ownership/legal claims are dishonest and delusional as always. Are you open to debate this in any medium/channel of your choice with all the proofs of your claims ?? As your esteemed self has blocked me everywhere else, you can reply here and I shall be available anytime .”
You can have your own opinions man. Pretty much every single one of your technical/ownership/legal claims are dishonest and delusional as always. Are you open to debate this in any medium/channel of your choice with all the proofs of your claims ?? As your esteemed self has… https://t.co/joo2K9dkrJ
— Santhosh Narayanan (@Music_Santhosh) March 13, 2026
Arivu replied to this saying, “My statement on credit, ownership and compensation is already public. I tried multiple times to resolve this privately — even visiting your home. Those efforts went nowhere. This isn’t a social media debate. Facts speak for themselves. Appropriate channels exist.”
Santhosh further replied to this comment saying, “Yes this should never been a social media talking point until you made it one with brazen lies. Again a beautiful fabrication of deceit when you say you tried to resolve this. You never responded once during all those trying times when I had to stay silent. Also you came home once last year to invite me for your marriage (I was abroad and my staff told me later). This was after you had blocked me and made a song about it. Anba dhan pesuven I promise let’s debate this man .”
Yes this should never been a social media talking point until you made it one with brazen lies. Again a beautiful fabrication of deceit when you say you tried to resolve this. You never responded once during all those trying times when I had to stay silent. Also you came home… https://t.co/qaQtDxt3df
— Santhosh Narayanan (@Music_Santhosh) March 13, 2026
The renewed clash between Arivu and Santhosh Narayanan has once again brought the long-running “Enjoy Enjaami” credit dispute back into public view. While Arivu maintains that he wrote the lyrics, composed the main vocal melody and was unfairly credited only as a featuring artist without ownership or royalties, Narayanan strongly disputes those claims, insisting the song was conceived as a collaborative effort involving Dhee, director Manikandan and himself, with Arivu contributing the lyrics and performance.
With both sides standing firmly by their versions and challenging each other’s claims, the disagreement has moved beyond a simple creative dispute into questions of credit, ownership and compensation in collaborative music projects.
Subscribe to our channels on WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and YouTube to get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
