Singer Sohail Shahzad to sue Rahat Fateh Ali Khan for plagiarism

Star claims his 2013 hit ‘Naina’ was copied for 2016 Bollywood film ‘Tiger’

KARACHI: Lahore-based singer Sohail Shahzad is set to file a case against Rahat Fateh Ali Khan for plagiarising his 2013 hit Naina in the 2016 Indian Punjabi film Tiger. Shahzad told The Express Tribune he intends to run a campaign and file a case against Khan as well as the Indian record label.

“I got to know that the song has been copied back in 2016 when people started commenting and sharing it with me on social media,” he said. “I’m a fan of Happy Raikoti, the lyricist of Rabba, the copied version. So I emailed the Indian record label, explaining the situation to them, but didn’t get a response.”



Shahzad said he still hadn’t tried to get in touch with Khan and his team. “I can’t believe that they didn’t know my song existed and that it could be a co-incidence because the melody is similar, even the song lyrics are matched to keep the composition intact and the words are borrowed.” Indeed, when one listens to both tracks, they find that Khan’s version is merely slower in tempo, but the melody and the meter of the verses are the same.

“A dedicated artist’s highest appreciation is that people follow his music, his art, and cover his songs. But it should be with credit provided to the original artist. When you get to know your work is recreated without your knowledge, it hurts,” shared Shahzad. “Therefore, my team and I have decided to go the legal way.”

On whether it’s logical to file a case against Khan, as he is not the composer (Laddi Gill is), Shahzad said that because suing the Indian record label meant they must have a representative in India to handle the legalities, it would make the process difficult. “We are giving Rahat sahab the notice so his team can approach the record label because they will obviously contact him, and so that we can establish a link. I know for sure they would have known of this song before.”
Shahzad said he has suffered losses because of the infringement. “I have suffered financial damage and it has hurt my image and popularity as well. I compose and write my songs. Because of this, some people now think I’m the one plagiarising Bollywood songs when it’s the other way around.” He shared he is set to start a campaign against this and send a legal notice to everyone involved soon.



Talking about intellectual property theft and its frequent violations in the music industry, the singer said he will now have to register his songs first before releasing so that it doesn’t happen again. “But we have no process for that. For people, social media is the ultimate registrar of copyrights. But it’s not true,” he said.

“Art and music is not even considered a profession here so nobody cares for copyrights. We should know how to secure its legal rights and take it seriously as a profession. Back in the day, I’m sure they had paperwork to make sure songs don’t get stolen,” continued Shahzad. “But, as far as I see, for the last 10-15 years, nobody has cared. With this campaign, my intention is to make musicians more aware of intellectual property theft. We need to take care of this. This is our bread and butter.”

The Express Tribune is waiting for a response from Khan’s end. In the meantime, take a look at the songs yourself:

'Naina' by Sohail Shahzad (2013):


'Rabba' by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (2016):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7t8jGIma44

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.