‘Besharam Rang’ copy of a Sajjad Ali song? Indian media, users think so

Deepika Padukone and Shah Rukh Khan’s Besharam Rang from their upcoming film Pathaan has been embroiled in controversy since its release. The song drew ire for its visual presentation, the striking saffron-coloured bikini Deepika donned, and its “vulgar” appeal.

Now, Indian media and users are comparing it to a Sajjad Ali song, after the singer shared a video on his Instagram. The makers have also been accused of plagiarism as social media users dub both Pathaan songs, Besharam Rang and Jhoome Jo Pathaan, to be a copy of different tracks.

Taking to his Instagram on December 26, Ali had shared a clip writing, “After listening to a new movie’s song, it reminded me of my song I released 26 years ago, Ab Ke Hum Bichare. Enjoy!” In the video, Ali goes on to say, “Main YouTube pe kuch nayi filmon ka music sun raha toh mujhe apna 25-26 saal purana ek ganna yaad aaya. Aap logon ko sunate hai (I was listening to some songs from new films on YouTube, and was reminded of a 26-year-old track on my own).” He then begins crooning the track.

After his video made the rounds, social media users started drawing comparisons between Sajjad’s rendition of the Mehdi Hasan ghazal and Besharam Rang.

Convinced that it sounds similar to the Pathaan track, a user wrote, “This sounds like Besharam Rang from Pathaan.” Another added, “Besharam song based on Sajjad Ali music composition. Indians always pirate our music composition and do not give credit.”

One more chimed in, “Almost every Bollywood movie song is copied, like, the tune. They also copy Japanese songs and all old and new Pakistani songs.”

Meanwhile, after the song’s release, many listeners also claimed Besharam Rang was plagiarised from Makeba by Jain.

A user had written, “Besharam Rang background is a complete copy of the Makeba song by Jain! I do agree the tweaks made make it a bit more Bollywood and catchy. The similarity of the vibe of the entire song to Ghungroo from War is just unavoidable.”

It is pertinent to mention here that Sajjad Ali did not categorically mention any song’s name or claim that his own song has been copied.