Spotify India and other platforms pull Pakistani music following Indian government ban
Last week, the Indian government issued an advisory directing all OTT platforms and streamers to remove Pakistani content.
Indian actor Vivek Oberoi has managed to make headlines — and no, it’s not because he’s making a comeback. It’s for posting an Instagram video of himself singing along to ‘Tere Liye’, the 2010 hit from his film Prince, while somehow skipping over one fairly essential detail: the actual singer of the song, Atif Aslam.
In the video, shot inside his car, Oberoi dramatically lipsyncs to the track and writes in the caption: “This song… is just magic… anytime anywhere… just gets me grooving! Do your version of ‘Tere Liye’, and tag me, I would love to see your takes! @kumartaurani, Singer: @shreyaghoshal, Lyricist: #Sameer, Music Director: @sachingupta1208, Director: @kookievgulati”
Spot the missing name?
Despite the song being a duet between Aslam and Shreya Ghoshal, and despite Aslam’s vocals being, well, the part Oberoi is actually singing along to, the actor credited only Ghoshal. Naturally, fans caught the omission immediately.
One commenter tried to justify the snub: “Not mentioned Atif Aslam because Pakistani account not showing in India.”
It’s true that Pakistani artists’ accounts are blocked in India — users can’t tag them even if they want to — but that only explains the missing tag, not the missing name. Oberoi could’ve simply written “Atif Aslam” without tagging him. Instead, he left the singer out altogether, making the omission look less like a technical glitch and more like selective crediting.
Given the long-standing ban on Pakistani artists in India, Oberoi’s post reflects a broader pattern where Pakistani voices remain widely consumed yet quietly erased. Oberoi hasn’t responded to the backlash — and honestly, this might be the most attention he’s received in years. His post has racked up over 19 million views, something his other posts have struggled to do.
Whether accidental or deliberate, Pakistani artists continue to be erased from Indian credits even while their work remains widely loved, and clearly, still played on loop in Bollywood actors’ cars.