Zee Music Company expands South India footprint with multilingual music rights acquisitions

Mumbai: Zee Music Company has expanded its South Indian portfolio with the acquisition of music rights for a slate of upcoming Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada films, strengthening its multilingual catalogue.

Among its latest acquisitions is the Malayalam film I'M GAME, starring Dulquer Salmaan, Samyuktha Viswanathan, Mysskin, Kathir, Antony Varghese and Parth Tiwari. Directed by Nahas Hidayath, the film has music by Jakes Bejoy. Its trailer is expected to be released soon.

The company said its southern expansion gathered momentum following the success of the Malayalam film Balan: The Boy, directed by Chidambaram with music by Sushin Shyam.


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Its Telugu acquisitions include Vikramarka, Pallaburusu, Happy Journey, Mega 158, starring Chiranjeevi with music by Thaman S, NBK 111, starring Nandamuri Balakrishna, Kajal Aggarwal, Nayanthara and Sanjay Dutt with music by Thaman S, Kanaka Durga, also featuring music by Thaman S, and VenkyAnil5, directed by Anil Ravipudi and starring Venkatesh, Kalyan Ram, Keerthy Suresh and Krithi Shetty, with music by G.V. Prakash Kumar.

Its Malayalam slate also includes Credit Score, while the Kannada lineup comprises Birbal: Case 2, Vibhrama and Mangala Gowri. In Tamil, the label has acquired the music rights for Slumdog: 33 Temple Road, starring Vijay Sethupathi and Tabu, with music by Harshavardhan Rameshwar.

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Zee Music Company has also acquired the multilingual music rights for Toxic, produced by KVN Productions and Monster Mind Creations and starring Yash, across its Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam versions.

Beyond films, the company has partnered with ZEE5 Malayalam's upcoming hip-hop reality show Kerala Underground, securing the show's music rights and releasing its promotional anthem featuring Dabzee, The Imbachi, MC Couper and Parimal Shais.

Speaking about the company's expansion strategy, Sujal Parekh, Chief Business Officer, Zee Music Company, said, "We're happy to partner with Wayfarer Films on I’M GAME. This collaboration strengthens our presence in the Malayalam market and is another step in our Pan-India growth journey. We look forward to working with talented composers like Jakes Bejoy and bringing great music to audiences across languages."

The company said the newly acquired slate is scheduled for release this year and in 2027.