JO-G talks difference between inspiration and imitation after 'Sadak 2' controversy

Upcoming Bollywood film Sadak 2 has been tainted with controversy from the get-go, as the conversation around nepotism in Bollywood took flight right after the apparent suicide of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Given that the film is directed by Mahesh Bhatt and stars his daughters, Alia and Pooja, Sadak 2 has been receiving a lot of flak on social media, so much so that its trailer - released earlier this week - has become the most ‘disliked’ YouTube video of all time.

And now, Sadak 2 finds itself in another controversy, this time on plagiarism charges. A song played in the trailer, Ishq Kamal, is reportedly a copy of a Pakistani track called Rabba Ho that came out roughly a decade ago. The latter’s composer Shezan Saleem, aka JO-G, recently posted a video wherein he compared both the songs to support his claim.

“What do we do about this? Copied from a song that I produced in Pakistan and launched in 2011. Let’s talk guys,” he tweeted, sharing the video. The comparison revealed striking similarities between Ishq Kamaal and Rabba Ho in terms of both melody and arrangement.

“A trailer for a Bollywood film called Sadak 2 has just been released and there is a song in it called Ishq Kamaal,” JO-G said in the video. “After listening to it, I realised that it sounds like a composition I had produced for a friend around 11 years ago. The friend’s name is Zaid Khan. I think they’ve copied it because not only the melody but the music is also very similar.” After playing the choruses of both songs, he asked, “What does the public have to say?”

The producer has went into more detail over the issue in a new video uploaded on YouTube.  He starts off by talking about  how artists, be it “musicians, painters or even a sound design technicians,” are by nature sensitive. “I, too, am one of the sensitive artists of this global music industry,” he confessed.

JO-G then revealed how he came to know of the alleged plagiarism. “I came across the Sadak 2 trailer on social media. I was excited to watch it. Then, a few seconds later, a song started playing. As the music started, I felt that there were similar vibes,” he said.

He said the chorus him of his own track. “As soon as the chorus hit, I was like, ‘Okay, there is something wrong over here.’ I listened to the entire chorus and paused it without watching the entire trailer. I put on my song, sung by Zaid Khan, and then tallied the two tracks, thinking that I may be wrong. I listened to it carefully. Both the melodies are extremely similar. I wouldn’t shy away from saying that it sounds copied actually.”

JO-G noted that most listeners are supporting him in this. “Me, alone, saying that the song is copied might not hold much value to the music producers and the film company but the audience is listening. The media is listening. Everyone has heard it and all of them have retweeted that the song is in fact copied,” he stated.

“I composed, produced, mixed and mastered the song. The lyrics, melody, composition and singing are by Zaid Khan. We are both equally hurt. Inspirations, we all take. Borrow chord progression. At times, sounds match as people end up using the same libraries. That’s acceptable since it’s out there and royalty-free. But when it comes to the composition, it isn’t royalty-free. It is exclusive to the artist and producer.”

The musician believes plagiarism needs to stop. According to him, if one needs to borrow some elements of a song, “there is no harm in asking the original artist.” JO-G went on to thank people from India and Pakistan who have supported him. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank both the Indian and the Pakistani media and the people of both countries who supported me. Thank you for being my voice,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ishq Kamal’s composer, Suniljeet has denied JO-G’s accusations. "Ishq Kamaal is my original composition and doesn't share resemblance to any other song. Everybody involved in making this song, including singer Javed Ali, has added their magic to the music," Pinkvilla quoted him as saying.

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