Ilaiyaraaja issues statement to quash rumours about returning his prestigious awards

Just a couple of weeks after the long-going legal battle between the musical maestro Ilaiyaraaja and the management of Prasad Studios came to a conclusion, speculations were rife that Ilaiyaraaja has issued a statement regarding returning his State and National Awards. Soon after the rumours started to make headlines, the 77-year-old set the record straight and quashed the speculations about the same in a video that has recently surfaced online. The five-time National Award-winning musician clarified that the rumours that are doing rounds on social media about him are baseless and stated that he never spoke about returning his awards. 

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After Ilaiyaraaja, 'Isai Kalaignar Sangam' head Dheena quashes the rumours

The Ilaiyaraaja's awards controversy started after a meeting which was attended by the 'Isai Kalaignar Sangam' head, Dheena. During his meeting, Dheena spoke about the legal battle between Prasad Studios' management and Ilaiyaraaja, which, he claims, was misunderstood. After Ilaiyaraaja, he too issued a clarification video wherein, according to him, he only highlighted that Prasad Studios' management took out Ilaiyaraaja's awards from his room in the Hyderabad-based studio and put them in the warehouse. 

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The head of Isai Kalaignar Sangam also cleared the misunderstanding as he stated that he never spoke about Ilaiyaraaja returning his awards. In his statement, Ilaiyaraaja is heard saying, "It has come to my attention that a piece of news is making rounds about a decision of mine, which I am actually unaware of. However, I would like to clarify that what has been spread is completely baseless speculation". 

Check out Ilaiyaraaja's video below:

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On the other hand, in his video, Dheena is heard saying, "It has been brought to my notice that a misunderstanding has occurred post my meeting. I had only pointed out how Prasad Studios insulted the prestigious awards received by Ilaiyaraaja. However, my statement has been twisted in a way that Isaigani is planning to return his awards, and it is untrue. I never mentioned that Ilaiyaaraja has decided to do any such thing".

Both the videos have been shared by media consultant Diamond Babu on his Twitter handle. 

Check out Dheena's video below:

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