- Composer Pritam faced plagiarism allegations over Cocktail 2 song Mashooqa on social media
- Mashooqa is accused of copying the 1993 Italian track Se So Arrubate A Nonna by Bibi and Coco
- Pritam responded on Instagram, calling the critics an unpaid PR team for him
Composer Pritam has once again been targeted by a large section of the internet over plagiarism allegations, courtesy the Cocktail 2 song Mashooqa. After users alleged the song is a copy of an Italian track, the singer-composer responded directly on his Instagram Story, slamming what he called an "unpaid PR team" for putting his creation under the scanner.
Pritam wrote on his Instagram Story, "Every single one of my song releases comes with a set of self-appointed music detectives, who have created a new genre called 'imaginary similarities.' Same people, same 'inspired by' thesis. Boss, at this point, you are my unpaid PR team. I just want to say, guys, NOT NICE." (sic)
Ever since Mashooqa, featuring Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon, was released, the internet has labelled the song a copy of the 1993 Italian track Se So Arrubate A Nonna. The controversy erupted from a Reddit post.
The original song Se So Arrubate A Nonna is a Neapolitan track by the Italian duo Bibi and Coco. It was released in 1993 as part of their album Le Origini Vol. 2. The title roughly means The Kidnapped Grandma in the Neapolitan dialect.
What the Internet said
Notably, Pritam has faced plagiarism charges repeatedly since he began working in the Hindi film industry.
A Reddit user wrote, "Again he copied, but again, he made it as good, if not better, than the original."
Another user wrote, "After 2010, apart from a couple of songs, Pritam has only copied (reused rather) his own songs lol, like YJHD theme is reused as 'Desi romance' in Shaadi Ke Side Effects."
A section of users also defended the composer.
One user wrote, "These kinds of 'similarities' can be found for every new song. This is such a stretch."
Another comment read, "I wouldn't call that a copy, really."
About Cocktail 2
Directed by Homi Adajania, Cocktail 2 is a spiritual sequel to the 2012 blockbuster Cocktail, which featured Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and Diana Penty. The movie is set to hit theatres on June 19.
Cocktail 2's song Mashooqa was composed by Pritam, with lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya. Raghav Chaitanya and Mahmood Ruaa Kayy lent their voices to the track, with the Italian parts written and performed by Mahmood.