Copied or sampled? Pritam hits back in Cocktail 2 song row, calls critics unpaid PR

Pritam has pushed back against online plagiarism allegations around Mashooqa from Cocktail 2. The row has fuelled a wider debate over copying, inspiration and sampling on social media.

In Short

• Pritam denies plagiarism claims on Cocktail 2 song Mashooqa
• Social media compares Mashooqa to an Italian song
• Controversy began with Reddit user highlighting tune similarities

Music composer Pritam has responded to plagiarism allegations surrounding Mashooqa, the latest song from Cocktail 2, and said he was displeased by the claims being made online. The song was released recently, but soon became the subject of debate on social media after several users alleged that its tune had been copied from the 1993 Italian track Se So Arrubate A Nonna. Some users also revisited older allegations of plagiarism against Pritam.

Pritam responds

Addressing the controversy on his Instagram Story, Pritam wrote, “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)”

His response came after online discussion around the song gathered pace, with users comparing Mashooqa to the Italian track and questioning whether the tune had been lifted from it.

How the controversy started

The controversy began after a Reddit user shared videos from Mashooqa alongside the original 1993 track, pointing to similarities between the two tunes. Soon after, many social media users claimed that the music sounded almost identical.

Several posts were critical of the song and its composer. “It’s still a dull song even after Pritam copied it,” one person wrote. Another commented, “Bollywood copying again?” A third said, “It sounds the same.”

Fans defend the song

At the same time, several fans defended Pritam and argued that the song may have drawn inspiration from the original Italian track rather than copied it outright.

One Reddit user wrote, “This is called sampling, not stealing/copying. It’s when you take the main beat of a song and layer other instruments over it with changed lyrics. It’s a very popular concept in the music industry. Pitbull, Taylor Swift, Kanye and many more artists also sample songs.”

About Mashooqa and the original track

Mashooqa has been composed by Pritam, with lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya. It has been sung by Raghav Chaitanya and Mahmood Ruaa Kayy, while the Italian portions were written and performed by Mahmood. The song’s video shows Kriti and Shahid’s characters travelling to different places together and falling in love.

The original song, Se So Arrubate A Nonna, is a Neapolitan track by Italian duo Bibi and Coco. It was released in 1993 as one of the songs on their album Le Origini Vol. 2. Its title translates to “The Kidnapped Grandma” in the Neapolitan dialect. Though the song was not a worldwide hit, it has gained cult status in recent years.

About Cocktail 2

Cocktail 2 has been directed by Homi Adajania and is described as a spiritual sequel to the 2012 film Cocktail, which starred Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and Diana Penty. The film is scheduled to release in theatres on June 19.

With Mashooqa drawing both criticism and defence online, the debate has centred on whether the song closely resembles Se So Arrubate A Nonna or falls within the space of musical inspiration and sampling, even as Pritam has publicly objected to the allegations.

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