‘I never make such statements to begin with:’ Sajjad Ali denies calling ‘Besharam Rang’ a copy of his song

Almost a week ago, singer Sajjad Ali took to Twitter and sang ‘Ab Ke Hum Bichre Toh Shayad’ which later became viral for sounding like Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone’s ‘Besharam Rang’. Ali made news for ‘claiming’ that the creators of Pathaan copied his tune — the problem was he never actually claimed that. The singer has now clarified that he never compared the two in the first place and said he never makes “statements” about his songs being copied.

Ali took to Twitter and Instagram on Tuesday with a video in which he said, “After listening to the song people started to say that Sajjad Ali is saying that ‘my song has been replicated’. First thing, when did I say this? Go back and watch that video of mine, what did I say in that? I never named any singer, song, director or actor.”

He clarified that in the original video, he said that a newly released song reminded him of one of his own songs which he sang later on. “Why did I remember it? It’s because 80 per cent of the songs made in raag bhairavi on our end sound very similar. I have also made songs in raag bhairavi and I got the feel of my own song, only from the first line, because it sounded similar to one of mine. People thought of it as a copy and to clear it up, I never said such a thing. I never make such statements because it makes no difference. Just to be clear, the song is not a copy of my own and neither did I ever say it was,” he said.

Ali addressed people who assumed he made the video to gain “cheap fame”. Ali said he’s a “famous man” who doesn’t need fame of that sort. “In the 90s and 2000s when my songs were completely lifted, I didn’t point it out then, I won’t do it today and probably won’t in the near future. I don’t need fame of this kind. I have fans around the world, I’m never part of a controversy and neither do I say such stuff because I mind my own business,” he reasoned.

Some people accused the ‘Chal Ren De’ singer of lifting Mehdi Hasan’s ghazal for his song ‘Ab Ke Hum Bichre Toh Shayad’ to which he replied, “It’s not Mehdi Hasan sahab’s ghazal, it’s by Ahmad Faraz Sahab. It’s Mehdi Hasan sahab’s dhun [tune]. One ghazal is sung by artists in 100 different tunes and you don’t call that ‘copying’.”

Ali believes the real issue is that people have completely got rid of art and its different forms. He believes that’s the reason why they are unable to understand music, even if they love it, because they do not “have proper knowledge about it.”

“The things you don’t have knowledge about, refrain from discussing it casually. Take it easy guys. It’s music so enjoy it and there’s no need to fight about it,” he advised his followers.

In his original video, Ali had said, “I was browsing on YouTube when I heard songs from new movies and it reminded me of one my own songs from 25 to 26 years ago. Let’s make you listen to it.”

‘Besharam Rang’ from the upcoming movie Pathaan featured Khan and Padukone groove to the upbeat tune by the beach side in Europe. It became a hot topic, not because of the music but because of the clothes worn in the music video. Political leader Narottam Mishra of BJP found the costumes and content of the song so “objectionable” that he wanted it fixed.

Shortly after his criticism of the song, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) of India advised filmmakers to implement changes in the movie, including songs, and submit a revised version for a certification. Helmed by Siddharth Anand, Pathaan is scheduled for a theatrical release on January 25 in India.