"I told them I hadn’t given the rights."
Renowned bhangra musician Abrar Ul Haq has launched legal action over the alleged illegal sale of his music.
He claims his classic track was stolen and fraudulently sold to major Indian film producers.
The track in question is the culturally defining bhangra anthem titled ‘Nach Punjaban’.
It achieved massive global fame over the years. The song was recently featured in the high-profile Bollywood movie Jugg Jugg Jeeyo.
Indian filmmaker Karan Johar produced the blockbuster project. He relied heavily on the catchy tune for major marketing campaigns.
Speaking on the Geo Podcast, the music star exposed this international copyright scandal.
The artist spoke candidly to host Mubashir Hashmi during the recent episode.
He maintained that he never permitted his iconic song to appear in the movie.
The entertainer received no financial benefits from the cinematic release.
He said: “They sold the whole film on that song; it was unfair.”
A music production company based in London allegedly claimed ownership of his most famous tracks.
These disputed melodies include ‘Nach Punjaban’ and ‘Billo De Ghar’.
This ownership dispute caused technical problems when he tried to re-record his past music.
The copyright complications disrupted his planned recording sessions for Coke Studio.
He claimed the British business wrongfully used copyright strikes to remove his videos from YouTube.
The foreign company offered a confusing explanation when challenged regarding the rights.
Abrar said: “Look, I haven’t sold [the rights] to them; they assumed I had.
“And when we asked them about it, they gave a very interesting answer.
“They said, ‘You have that friend, Haroon, right?’ I said I did and they said I should ask Haroon.
“I told them I hadn’t given the rights to Haroon either; I have the rights. All they said was, ‘You can ask Haroon.’”
The Pakistani star alleged that the UK business prepared fake legal documents.
He asserted that these fraudulent papers contained forged signatures.
Fighting complex copyright lawsuits in London is incredibly expensive today. The veteran musician noted that he is not the only victim.
Abrar explained that several other South Asian artists have been severely impacted.
Despite the immense financial hurdles, the vocalist remains determined to win.
He described the current legal battle as an open-and-shut case. He possesses the option to recreate the track with new lyrics later.
However, Abrar insists that the original masterpiece belongs to him. He simply wants it returned immediately.
He explained that his initial motivation for creating art was focused on spreading happiness.
The singer said: “I am not the kind of guy to take music very seriously; I make it for the sake of fun, for the sake of happiness.
“But if it’s going to become such a big source of revenue, nobody should take someone else’s rights away.”
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