Plagiarism plagues desi music

The secret of creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. Perhaps some Bollywood music composers are missing the clue from Albert Einstein's words of wisdom, as blatant lifting of tunes continue to be a sure-fire success mantra. But is it time to hit the alarm button as far as plagiarism goes? A good piece of advice would be: to look before you cheat. Music director Pritam who ripped off the Ya Ali from Guitara band's Ya Ghali, may have to face a different sort of music now. Media reports are rife that Saudi prince Al Waleed, who owns the company, is considering legal action. And the knuckles are only going to be tightened as Indonesian band Peterpan's original number Tak Bisaka is topping charts in the guise of Pritam's Kya Mujhe Pyar Hai from Woh Lamhe.

So, is getting away with plagiarism no longer an easy job? "Nothing's going to change. Western and Pakistani numbers have been a permanent oasis for composers who run out of ideas. And now Arabian, Turkish and Spanish music is the flavour of the rip-off bazaar. Music directors have made successful careers out of this 'inspirational syndrome'," quips an industrywala. A track record of Pritam, Anu Mallick and Nadeem-Shravan's career graph does add value to the statement.

Bappi Lahiri is honest to admit, "There's difference between inspiration and plagiarism. I have composed many numbers which were inspired from western tracks. Even legends like S.D. Burman, Salil Choudhury and R.D. Burman were not untouched by inspirations. But we all evolved and adapted the numbers in the Indian way and added our creative touch. Today, some of the composers have crossed the line and are producing xerox copies of Pakistani, Arabic and Spanish tracks."

Karthik who maintains a website that lists the lifted Indian songs, is quick to add, "I have two sources to set the record straight, visitors who pass the information and the Internet. I'm an ardent listener of Spanish and Latin American music and inevitably the common link between them and some of the desi numbers is hard to ignore." And if you still aren't convinced, log on to www.itwofs.com and let the music do the talking.

source: www.deccan.com