Anu Malik 'plagiarised' Israeli national anthem and Indian Twitter can’t handle it

Malik reportedly copied the anthem in his song ‘Mera Mulk Mera Desh’ from the 1996 film ‘Diljale’

Israel’s recent gymnastics win at the Tokyo Olympics brought with it a dawning realisation on Twitter that Bollywood composer may have plagiarised the Israeli national anthem. On Sunday, after the Israeli national anthem Hatikvah was played during the event to honour the winner, the striking similarities between it and Malik’s song Mera Mulk Mera Desh became all too apparent, according to Hindustan Times.

The patriotic song from the 1996 film Diljale was sung by Kumar Sanu and Aditiya Narayan, with the video starring actor Ajay Devgn. As expected, the revelation led to several Indians taking to Twitter to call out the famous composer, and some tweets were just too funny to ignore. 

One user explained that Malik deserves a bit more credit, although not necessarily for his music. “Anu Malik just simply didn't copy Israel national anthem in 1996 film Diljale song.  It needs years of research and analysis to find out which country isn't going to win medals for years. Visionary man.”

Anu Malik just simply didn't copy Israel national anthem in 1996 film diljale song. It needs years of research and analysis to find out which country isn't going to win medals for years. Visionary man.#AnuMalik

— Prashant Shah (@prashshah) August 2, 2021

This user had a pretty fair point 

Anu Malik stealing tunes from Israel national anthem shows your perennial love towards imperialism. 🤦‍♂️

— S📍 (@shreyanshclub) August 2, 2021

This tweet has us wondering which country is next on Malik’s list.

It shows growth of Anu Malik.
He used to copy Pakistani songs but this time he spread his wings and conquered Israel.😂

— Sangeeta Tyagi 🇮🇳 (@sangeeta_tyagi) August 2, 2021

One user tweeted about this surprising turn of event

Anu Malik’s copyright forced Twitter to remove Israel’s national anthem from Twitter 😂👍

Koi Anu malik ko bhi medal do bhai 😎

— Bayonet Warrior (@bayonetwarrior) August 2, 2021

On the surprisingly long history of the tune 

Anu Malik copied the opening bars from Hatikvah, which in turn was copied from a Romanian Folk song which owes its origin to an Italian 16th century folk tune “La Mantovana” https://t.co/phOiprDBlM

— Abhijit Iyer-Mitra (@Iyervval) August 1, 2021

And finally

Anu Malik after copying national anthem of Israel for his song mera mulk mera desh- pic.twitter.com/UfkTeBVodo

— AAKASH (@TheSanskaribuoi) August 2, 2021

This is not the first case of plagiarism the popular composer has been accused of. His songs Dil Mera Churaya Kyun, Kaho Na Kaho, Neend Churayi Meri and Nasha Ye Pyar Ka Nasha are a few songs that appear to be copied from international songs.