Zee Music Company is expanding its presence in South Indian cinema with a slate of music rights acquisitions across Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada films, as it continues to diversify its catalogue beyond Hindi film and independent music.
The expansion follows the label’s acquisition of the music rights for the Malayalam film Balan: The Boy, directed by Chidambaram with music by Sushin Shyam. Building on that, Zee Music Company has now secured the music rights for the upcoming Malayalam film I’M GAME, starring Dulquer Salmaan, Samyuktha Viswanathan, Mysskin, Kathir, Antony Varghese and Parth Tiwari. Directed by Nahas Hidayath, the film features music by Jakes Bejoy.
The company has also added several projects across South Indian languages to its catalogue. Its Telugu slate includes 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 with music by Thaman S, and VenkyAnil5, directed by Anil Ravipudi, starring Venkatesh, Kalyan Ram, Keerthy Suresh and Krithi Shetty, with music by G.V. Prakash Kumar.
In Malayalam, the label has also acquired Credit Score. Its Kannada acquisitions include Birbal: Case 2, Vibhrama and Mangala Gowri. In Tamil, Zee Music Company has secured the music rights for Slumdog: 33 Temple Road, starring Vijay Sethupathi and Tabu, with music by Harshavardhan Rameshwar.
The company has also acquired the multi-language music rights for Toxic, produced by KVN Productions and Monster Mind Creations, starring Yash. The acquisition covers the film’s Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam soundtracks.
Outside film music, Zee Music Company has partnered with ZEE5 Malayalam’s hip-hop reality show Kerala Underground, securing the music rights to the programme. The label has also released the show’s promotional anthem featuring Dabzee, The Imbachi, MC Couper and Parimal Shais.
Commenting on the acquisition of I’M GAME, 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 newly acquired slate is scheduled for release through 2026 and 2027, further expanding Zee Music Company’s catalogue across regional language markets.
