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May seems to be the season for controversies. While the Ranveer Singh-Farhan Akhtar impasse sees no headway, recently, a series of “baseless allegations” have been made against Tips Music by producer Vashu Bhagnani as per its managing director, Ramesh Taurani.
“It is amply clear to us that this is a smear campaign driven by personal vendetta, intended to derail the release of our film Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai!” says the music baron and film producer.
He maintained, “Our association with Mr. Bhagnani dates back to 1995, when we generously offered him a 50 percent partnership and a producer credit on a project for which we had laid out all the groundwork. Coolie No. 1 went on to become a massive box-office hit and gave Mr. Bhagnani a kickstart in the industry. Over the years, we continued to extend our heartfelt support and good wishes to him. It is out of respect for this long-standing relationship that we chose to remain silent until now.” (Incidentally, this co-producer association also extended to Bhagnani’s Hero No. 1released in 1997).
The press release stated, “However, Mr. Bhagnani remains determined to spread misinformation via various platforms including social media. Suspiciously, he has also chosen to file a legal complaint in Kathihar court in Bihar, over 2000 kms away from Mumbai. He decided to take legal action against all associated with our film rather than engage in direct dialogue. We are deeply disheartened and disappointed by Bhagnani’s conduct. We urge the public to not pay heed to such targeted negativity. We maintain that we are the absolute and lawful owners of the songs Chunari chunariand Ishq sona hai.”
Adds Taurani, “Since this matter is sub-judice, this will be the only statement we shall be making at this time. We have full faith in the legal system of our country and are confident that justice will prevail. To our beloved audiences, we promise a complete David Dhawan entertainer on the 5th of June, in a cinema near you. Satyameva Jayate.”
Now here are more salient points. Dhawan had also directed Coolie No. 1, Hero No.1, Biwi No. 1 (1999) and Shaadi No. 1 (2005) besides the 2020 reboot of the first film for Bhagnani. Bhagnani had also co-produced the Dhawan directorial, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998), the film that Amitabh Bachchan unofficially financed—Bhagnani’s partner here was Bachchan’s manager, Sheetal Jain. And all these films, except Shaadi No. 1, had music on Tips.
The Tips-Dhawan association also was there in Kunwara (2000) that Tips presented and co-produced. Dhawan seems to be caught in the crossfire, but on the other hand, the two songs in question are from Biwi No. 1 and it is said that Dhawan has made a covert remake of Biwi No. 1. But then, as someone put it, if no one outside the original’s team has watched the new film, how can they judge whether it is a rehash or not?
Rumpa Banerjee, Head – CorpCom & Member Relations of IPRS (the Indian Performing Rights Society) told me that there are laws that state precisely how rights are divided between music labels and producers. She was unaware of the details of this case and stated that the law will follow its course in the matter.
