5 min readHyderabadUpdated: Mar 13, 2026 08:06 PM IST
Five years after “Enjoy Enjaami” became one of the most streamed Tamil songs in history, the dispute over who made it still has not been settled. On Friday, the conversation flared up again on social media, this time with music composer Santhosh Narayanan responding directly to a user’s post and challenging rapper Arivu to a public debate.
How “Enjoy Enjaami” credits row started again
A social media user on X shared “Enjoy Enjaami” this week, commenting on how a Tamil indie track had crossed borders and captivated audiences globally during the pandemic lockdown. Another user responded to that post alleging that singer Dhee and her father had stolen the song from Arivu. That allegation caught Santhosh Narayanan’s attention.
He quoted the post and pushed back: “Konjam rest edunga thambi (Rest a little, brother). 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.”
Arivu responded the same day, offering his account of how the song came together. “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 I was placed only as a ‘featuring artist’ — despite writing the full song and composing the main melody…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 Narayanan then went further, calling out what he described as a pattern of silence and misrepresentation: “Yes, this should never have 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. This was after you had blocked me and made a song about it. Anba dhan pesuven. I promise, let’s debate this man.”
When the dispute between Santhosh Narayanan and Arivu began
“Enjoy Enjaami” was released in March 2021 under Maajja, the independent music label backed by A R Rahman, and was credited as Dhee featuring Arivu, produced by Santhosh Narayanan. The song sits at over 521 million views on YouTube and was, for a period, one of the most talked-about Tamil recordings in recent memory.
The credit dispute first broke into public view in July 2022, when Dhee performed the song at the inaugural function of the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai. Arivu was neither present nor credited at the event. He responded on Instagram, writing: “I composed, written, sung and performed Enjoy Enjaami. Nobody gave me a tune, melody or a single word to write this one. Spent almost six months of sleepless and stressful nights and days for everything it is right now.”
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Santhosh Narayanan issued a two-page statement in response at the time, acknowledging Arivu’s central role as a lyricist and performer while maintaining that the production, composition and arrangement were his own. He wrote: “I composed, arranged, programmed, recorded and co-sang Enjoy Enjaami. Dhee co-composed the tunes of many of her lines while Arivu agreed to write the lyrics. I composed the rest of the tune and also composed the tune of Arivu’s portions.” He also confirmed at the time that revenues and ownership of the song were shared equally among the three.
Two years later, in March 2024, another dimension surfaced. Santhosh Narayanan posted a video revealing that all three artistes had earned nothing from the song despite its massive streaming numbers. He said their net income from “Enjoy Enjaami” was “whopping zero cents,” pointing to unresolved issues with Maajja over remittance of revenues. He was also clear that AR Rahman, whose name was associated with the label, was not responsible. He wrote: “My dearest AR Rahman sir has always been a pillar of support without any expectations through the entire Maajja fiasco and he is also a victim of many false promises and malice.”
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