A long-overdue intervention

It was with some interest that I had been following the litigation between the Roshan family (Hrithik, Rakesh and Rajesh) and music director, Ram Sampat (http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1159449, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/My_conscience_is_clear_Rakesh_Roshan/articleshow/2947403.cms). Sampat filed a case against the Roshans, alleging that the music in the title song of the movie Krazzy4 was plagiarised from the tune he had penned for the Sony Ericsson ‘Thump’ ad. The Roshans contended that they had sought and received permission to use the music from Sony Ericsson. After several courtroom twists and turns, the litigants reached an out-of-court settlement (the Roshans paid Sampat a rumoured Rs. 2 crore). From the media reports, it does seem that the Roshans were guilty, at least of acting in bad faith, even if, as they allege, Sampat timed his suit against them to maximise his chances of receiving a large compensation.

Regardless of the merits of the case and the integrity of either plaintiff or defendant, I am glad such a case made it to the courts and received the coverage it did. For far too long, plagiarism has gone unchallenged in the Hindi film industry. Our filmmakers and music directors have shamelessly stolen scripts and scores from all over the world. Countless tunes from the Bengali and Tamil film industries have ruled the Hindi charts, with no given credit to the original composers. This particular case will, one hopes, serve as a deterrent to copy-happy plagiarists.

It is a bit of a wonder that people have felt the impulse to copy the work of others. Everyday life in India, the political and social fabric of the country, and its almost incomparable stock of myth, history, lore, classical music and theatre are rich enough sources of inspiration. Or, if one is to seek inspiration from other sources, one could do it with honour and creativity, as Vishal Bhardwaj has done with Maqbool and Omkara, his masterly adaptations of Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Othello. I live in the hope that our music directors, script writers and filmmakers will give us more original work in the years to come. In the meanwhile, I am being shamelessly inconsistent, tapping my feet to some of Pritamda’s hits. Err…. Why do these sound so familiar?

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