Pehli Nazar Mein by Atif/Pritam...hang on, is it Sarang Hae Yo by Kim Hyung-sab?

Plagiarism in the Hindi film industry is almost as boring as divorces among Hollywood couples. I am sure there is a bunch of oldies all around us, who are obsessed with saying, "hamare zamaane mei to yeh nahi hota tha". But plagiarism goes back to the days of OP Nayyar, Shankar Jaikishan, Kalyanji Anandji, and even the baap, R. D. Burman.

While talking to some of my friends across the border, I get this feeling that they are fiercely anti-Bollywood. They believe anything and everything Bollywood is plagiarised. Initially, I used to make an effort to sell them the "you know is duniya mei achhe log bhi hote hai" but the deeper I dig into this issue, the more I tend to agree with my friends. Most of the music that comes out of Bollywood is copied/inspired/lifted/ripped off/internalized.

One would assume that with the new crop of talent coming up, things are getting better. Dream on! The new lot is even worse. Leading the pack is the one and only Pritam. The day he composes an original song, I will start coming to work at 9.30 AM. Having said that, plagiarism confuses me. I love some of the music that came out of Bollywood in the recent past. Gangster, Life...in a Metro, and Race are some of the high-profile cases in point. I love the songs but they are all 'lifts'. Heart says, "even if it's a lift, you love the song and that's all that matters".

It's a valid point. After all, a music lover should only be concerned about the music and not its origin. But there is an issue that matters more than the sound of music or the lyrics. It's the rights of the original composer. The current smash-hit, Pehli Nazar Mein sung by Atif and composed by Pritam, is a shameless rip-off from a Korean song, 'Sarang Hae Yo' (roughly meaning I love you). Had I not done a bit of research, I would have never known. Our composers lift tunes but they never credit the original composer!! Unethical, shameless, talent-less b******s.

Here I am thinking how Pritam should have got all the awards in town for his songs in Life...in a Metro and there he is ripping stuff off like he is Ranjeet in a rape scene. Most of the songs on the album are copied. Same goes for Gangster. I paid 150 odd bucks to buy a CD containing 4 plagiarised tracks out of 5. The 5th one is original because I haven't seen any proof that it's copied. Now, would you fault anyone for calling Bollywood composers a bunch of 'cheats'?

Some songs we never knew were copied.

Kaisi Paheli Hai (Parineeta)
A kiss to build a dream on (Louis Armstrong)

Dil Deke Dekho (Dil Deke Dekho)
Sugar in the morning (The McGuire Sisters)

Agar Tum Mil Jao (Zeher)
Agar Tum Mil Jao (Tasavvur Khanum)

Chale Jaise Hawaein (Main Hoon Na)
Yeh jo Halka Halka sa (Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan)

Raja ko Rani Se (Akele Hum Akele Tum)
Love Theme (Godfather)

Aisa Zakham Diya Hai (Akele Hum Akele Tum)
Sweet Child in Time (Deep Purple)

The biggest disappointment of them all was that my favourite Shehenshah title song is also a lift :(

It amuses me when Bappi Lahiri sues Truth Hurts for plagiarism. After all, we are talking about a man who himself was a master at copying. There are many many many such cases in Hindi film music. See it to believe it. Link

Information Source: http://www.itwofs.com/.