Aamir Khan's TV debut yesterday, which was preceded by months of notoriety, culminated in a discussion with the ligature Euphoria alleging that the chorus of the exhibit's 22-little divine carol, Satyamev Jayate, had been lifted from the ligature's decade-old carol Satyameva Jayate. While Euphoria's guide vocalist Palash Sen said all the TV exhibit's team had to do was ask him for their carol to be used, composer Ram Sampath refused to make comments or remarks.
I was shocked: Palash
For the last few days, Palash Sen has been receiving calls from many of his fans who told him that the tune of the anthem of Aamir's show,
Satyamev Jayate, was the same as Euphoria's song, which was also called
Satyameva Jayate.
"The trailers and the anthem of this show have been running on television for quite a while, but I had not seen the videos. When I heard it, I was shocked. In 2000, Euphoria released its second album
Phir Dhoom, and one of its songs was named
Satyameva Jayate. And the chorus of composer Ram Sampath's version of
Satyamev Jayate is exactly the same as the chants in our song. They've basically used the same refrain.
Jo baaki ka gaana hai, that has different words and tune. But the mainstay of the song - the chorus - is ours. Which is why I've sent a legal notice to them," says Palash.
Listen to Amir Khan's Satyamev Jayete I Listen to Euphoria's version
He adds, "It was the first Indian non-film song that was composed on the thought and phrase of 'satyameva jayate'. We used to play that song extensively at our concerts about a decade ago. That song is not as popular as
Maaeri (from the same album) because we did not make a video for it. But I believe that is the point - if one takes a 12-year-old song and picks up its chorus, most people won't know about it, barring a few passionate fans who instantly recalled it and called me up."
I'd have given permission
"They could have asked me and I'd have agreed at one go. I wouldn't have asked for money. I would have just asked for a small credit to the band for the song," says Palash.
"A lot of times, I see Euphoria's tunes, catch-phrases, etc, in many Bollywood songs, but since that was not full-fledged copying, I didn't raise any objection. I admire and respect Ram, and I remember how he fought for copyright issues when his own song was lifted and used in Rakesh Roshan's
Krazzy 4, hence the shock is even greater. The problem is that today, in the industry, copying is so frequent that people don't even care about the original contributor's objections.I want the audience to hear Euphoria's Satyameva Jayate and decide on their own," says Palash.
In 2008, Ram was involved in a similar copyright controversy, but back then, he was the one accusing the Roshans of not giving him credit for the music of
Krazzy 4. He ultimately won the case and got 2 crore as compensation.
No comment: Ram Sampath
When contacted about Palash's allegations, Ram Sampath, composer of the anthem for Aamir's TV show, said, "I don't have any idea about what you are saying. Nobody has said anything of this sort to me yet. So, I refuse to comment."
