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Xulfi denies 'Tu Jhoom' plagiarism claim, says his work is 'not borrowed or without credit'

Xulfi denies 'Tu Jhoom' plagiarism claim, says his work is 'not borrowed or without credit'

Umerkot singer Nirmala Manghani has accused the Coke Studio producer of lifting the melody for the song from her vocal sample.
21 Jan, 2022

Coke Studio producer Zulfiqar J Khan, popularly known as Xulfi, has denied claims made by Nirmala Maghani — an up and coming singer from Umerkot — of lifting the melody for Coke Studio season 14’s hit 'Tu Jhoom' from a vocal sample she sent to him. While many say Manghani's sample and the actual song do sound similar, Xulfi says his work "is not borrowed or without credit".

Coke Studio released the first song from season 14 on January 14. The track, 'Tu Jhoom', has been sung by Abida Parveen and Naseebo Lal. According to the credits given in the description of the song on YouTube, the music was arranged and produced by Xulfi and Abdullah Siddiqui. Coke Studio's season 14 has been "curated and produced by" Xulfi as well.

According to an Express Tribune article published on January 18, Manghani said Xulfi had lifted the melody of the song from a sample she had sent him in June 2021, adding that she only wants recognition and due credit for her work.

Xulfi released a statement on January 19 to address the accusation, saying his work "is not borrowed or without credit, given that what I share with the world is work that relies on the very essence of partnership and collaboration".

"I produce and collaborate in the spirit of inclusivity and my work with Coke Studio holds the same philosophy," the statement read. "I hope this to be evident in my entire body of work produced in my career. When we set out to make this season, our goal was to make Pakistani music heard worldwide. Our aim was to present our music, our young talent and our icons in a way that shows the world what we are capable of. What we stand for as a nation. Our aim was to create a cultural moment of glory for Pakistan.

"Coke Studio is Pakistan’s biggest cultural export and connector of hearts and souls; it has consistently brought people together for art, progression and positivity. And that power is very dear to me and one that I’ve absorbed heavily this season. I don’t take the fabric of Coke Studio lightly but rather wear it as a cloak of responsibility and pride."

The Coke Studio team says that the demo version of the song was first shared in May, a month before Manghani claims to have sent her demo to Xulfi via WhatsApp. The team provided a screen-recording of a WhatsApp conversation between Siddiqui and Xulfi which featured a video of the demo sent on May 16 as evidence.

Images reached out to Manghani about Xulfi's statement, to which she responded that she sent her sample to the producer in June and when she heard 'Tu Jhoom' upon its release, she realised it had been copied from her sample and had contacted Xulfi about it.

Comments

M. Saeed Jan 21, 2022 07:31pm
It is very difficult to be honest in such matters.
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Soniye Tu Auder Te La Jan 21, 2022 07:38pm
Xulfi got caught.
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Shabnam Jan 21, 2022 09:23pm
A lesson for all the talented and upcoming youth "all that glitters is not gold". Be careful in future.
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Faisal Jan 21, 2022 10:13pm
She may have sent him the recording but is there proof that he even listened to it? If not then hard to claim plagiarism.
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Manzar Rahman Jan 21, 2022 10:14pm
Xulfi statement feels fishy to me. Be a man acknowledge the mistake (theft).
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Irfan Huq Jan 22, 2022 02:42am
There have been cases in West where the music has been Lifted from other people's work and they had to pay heavy fine from the court on the court.
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Irfan Huq Jan 22, 2022 02:47am
The fact that the manghani sent her song to Mr. Xulfi. There may have been some correspondence between those two. The fact the song in the Coke studio is quite close to the song that that Mr.Xulfi Receivedl. This case should be tried in the court and both the musician and the Coke studio producer should be heavily fined so nobody should ever steal somebody else's work.
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Obaid Rahman Jan 22, 2022 03:01am
Does not sound the same.
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Haider Jan 22, 2022 03:43am
Tu Jhoom is serenity, kudos to whoever composed the melody and the lyrics are also next level
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Dr. Siddiqui Jan 22, 2022 06:52am
In an environment of total disregard to copyright violation and intellectual property (IP) infringement...Manghani's claim will not carry weight until she gets services of an IP/Copyright attorney...and the tone of music will change!
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Asif Jan 22, 2022 07:31am
Anyone can see you stole her melody. Be honest and pay her fair share.
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Asif Jan 22, 2022 07:33am
Good advertisement anyways. Even people who didn’t wanted to listen are more listening.
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Farhan Jan 22, 2022 08:22am
Shame on him. He stole the music from that girl. He should be banned for the life time.
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KAMRAN IFTIKHAR Jan 22, 2022 09:00am
There are similarities in her tune but also sounds quite different. As a musician, its hard to believe that this could have been the only inspiration behind the hit song. The actual songs is quite diverse in its progression overwall. I don't completely buy what this woman is saying.
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Dubdub Jan 22, 2022 11:11am
Most of Coke Studio is unoriginal anyway. It is just remixed old hits.
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Waqar Jan 22, 2022 03:27pm
She is just doing it for views. Its barely similar, lyrics are different. Xulfi shared a video of him already having the tune ready in May. She sent her clip in June.. if anything Xulfi should accuse her of lifting his tune
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Zahra Jan 23, 2022 10:36pm
This stinks of a smear campaign against Xulfi...the rate at which this news has spread within the second week of the release of Coke Studio seems heavily suspicious, in a similar vein as the campaign against his work for the PSL anthems. Having followed his work for a long, he seeks opportunities to make space for young musicians and he has nothing to gain by doing this. This seems to be attacking his mission statement of building a music industry.
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Naya Jan 25, 2022 10:05pm
beautiful song... Nirmala is looking for recognition. Her claim seems to have merit as she shared her tune in June 2021.
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