Bombay Jayashri in trouble over Life of Pi song?

A few days ago, it was revealed that the song "Pi’s Lullaby" from the soundtrack for Ang Lee’s film "Life of Pi" had been nominated for an Academy Award in the "Best Original Song" category. The film’s score recently picked up a Golden Globe award for the compositions by Mychael Danna.

The melodious song "Pi’s Lullaby" is the opening song of the film, and has been rendered by renowned Carnatic musician Bombay Jayashri.

Could recent revelations affect the song’s chances of bagging the award?

The Irayimman Thampi Trust based in Kerala has claimed that the song is a direct translation of "Omanathinkal Kidavo", a Malayalam lullaby penned by the trust’s namesake, Irayimman Thampi who was a palace court singer in the late 18th Century. Chairman N Krishna Varma, and secretary Rukmini Bhai Thampuratti have alleged that the lyrics of Jayashri’s song are a "mere translation of the Malayalam verse into Tamil".

"I can only say that I wrote whatever came to my heart," said the singer, who has denied the charge. The Trust are threatening to take legal action against Bombay Jayashri unless she can explain the similarities between the two compositions. 

Let’s see what happens in the run-up to the ceremony…