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Hindi [Other Composers]

 
1
Lahron pe lahar [Film: Chhabili]
Composer: Snehal Bhatkar
Inspired from the song The man who plays the mandolino by Dean Martin.
Listen to Lehron pe lehar | The man who plays the mandolino 
Ditto. Anu Malik has used the same tune for his Baazigar hit 'Yeh kaali kaali aankhen'! Check out the Anu Malik section, No.25.
2
Tum Ladke Ho [Film: Maine pyar kiya] <TC>
Composer: Raam Laxman
Inspired from Baltimore's song 'Tarzan Boy'.
 
Ditto!
3
Tu... [Film: Dulhan bano mein teri] <TC>
Composer: Raam Laxman
Inspired from Maddona's song Frozen!
 
Ditto!
4
Aate Jaate [Film: Maine pyaar kiya] <TC>
Composer: Raam Laxman
From Stevie Wonder's I just called to say I love you!
 
Ditto.
5
Mere Rang Mein [Film: Maine pyaar kiya] <TC>
Composer: Raam Laxman
From Europe's Final Countdown!
 
Yup!
6
Le Pappiyan Jhappiyan [Film: Haqeeqat (1995)] <TC>
Composer: Dilip Sen sameer Sen
Inspired by The Champs number, 'Tequila' (1957)
Listen to Le pappiyan | Tequila
Ditto. Also, check out the earlier adaptation of tequila, by Kishoreda (listing number: 40, in this page)
7
Jab tak ye raat hai baaki [Film: Bees Saal Pehle] <TC>
Composer: Hemant Kumar
Lifted off the British band, Christie's Yellow River.
Listen to Jab tak yeh | Yellow river
Yellow River's Wikipedia entry reveals that this track was first offered to another band, The Tremeloes, who found it too pop-oriented for their future and went ahead with another track, after recording it with Christie's lead, Jeff Christie!
PS: Is it just me or does anyone else also 'hear' the tune of 'Sayonara' from Love in Tokyo in Yellow River? Nothing too direct, just traces :-)
8
Kyun hai deewanu tu akela [Film: Bees Saal Pehle]
Composer: Hemant Kumar
Inspired from Mary Hopkin's Those were the days.
 
Looking for the Hindi track!
9
Oh oh oh oh Baby [Film: Police]
Composer: Hemant Kumar
Inspired from the oldie number Oh oh oh bernadine.
 
Looking for the Hindi track!
10
Gore gore [Samadhi] <TC>
Composer: C Ramachandra
Lifted from the number by Edmundo Ros, 'Chico chico'.
Listen to Gore gore | Chico chico
Blatant!
11
Jhoom jhoom ke jaam choomke [Film: Coffee House]
Composer: Roshan
Inspired from Malaguenia. Looking for details.
 
Looking for the Hindi track!
12
Saaqiya thodi thodi [Film: Nishan] <TC>
Composer: Usha Khanna
Inspired from the oldie track Sibone!
 
I'm yet to hear the hindi version!
13
Hawwa aziza [Film: Main Hun Allaudin] <TC>
Composer: Usha Khanna
Inspired from the oldie number 'Hawa Nagila'
 
The original is a brilliant song, I'm yet to hear the Hindi version, to confirm!
14
Aapki adaaon pe phida dil [Film: Nishan]
Composer: Usha Khanna
Inspired from Henry Mancini's The Baby Elephant Walk
 
Looking for the Hindi track!
15
Oye Oye [Film: Tridev (1989)] 
Composer: Viju Shah/ Kalyanji Anandji
Inspired from Gloria Estefan's 'Rhythm is gonna get you' (1987)
Listen to Oye oye | Rhythm is gonna get you
The humming is lifted!
16
Zindagi mein pyar karna seekh lo [Film: Phool Aur Patthar]
Composer: Ravi
From the Brazilian Love song, also called as Andorinha Preta.
 
Looking for an audio clipping of this number. Check out Sandeep Chowta's rip-off of the same original - Sandeep Chowta page, 4th listing.
17
Maine kahan tha aana Sunday ko [Film: Ustaadon ka ustaad]
Composer: Ravi
From Bing Crosby's Never on a sunday!
 
Looking for an audio clipping of this number. 
18
Tu mile dil khile [Film: Criminal]
Composer: MM Kreem
Prelude lifted from Enigma's 'Eyes of Truth' and 'Carlyl's song'
 
The tune of the song, a very good one at that, remains original! 
19
Keemti keemti hai zindagi [Film: Criminal (1993)] <TC>
Composer: MM Kreem
Ditto copied from Snow's 'Lonely lonely Monday morning' (1993).
Listen to Kimti kimti | Lonely lonely
Ditto! 
20
Gupt gupt [Film: Gupt] <TC>
Composer: Viju Shah
Multiple sources of inspiration! The opening is from Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells' (1973). The main tune is from Deep Forest's first song of the same name released in 1992!
Listen to Gupt Gupt | Tubular bells | Deep Forest
Inspired! Very much!
21
Duniya Haseenon ka mela [Film: Gupt] 
Composer: Viju Shah
The opening music in flute has been lifted from Kitaro's 'Matsuri'!
Listen to Duniya Haseenon Ka | Matsuri
Kitaro's Matsuri was part of his 1990 album, 'Kojiki'!
22
Bistirno Paarore (and/or Ganga) [Non-film] <TC>
Composer: Bhupen Hazarika
Inspired by the song 'Old man river', which was part of a 1927 musical 'Showboat'.
Listen to Bistrino paarore | Old man river | Ganga
The musical was based on Edna Ferber's book with the same name that was released in 1926. The composers of the original version of Showboat (there have been many versions subsequently!) were Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern. The original 'Old man river' has been sung by people like Bing Crosby, Paul Robeson, Al Johnson and Jules Bledsoe. However, without robbing any credit from our own Bhupen Hazarika, I personally felt 'Bistirno paarore' is the Indian interpretation of the older classic and is Indianized to a large extent. Particularly, listen to the original from the point 00:54:00 onwards - there are clear indications of how the Indian version was conceived! Also, note that the subsequent version Ganga was based on the river while the original showboat version was about the river Mississippi! Was Bistirno...based on some river too? Bramhaputra? Just a guess - its possible! Also strikingly similar is the kind of quivery voice on both the Indian and western version!! I'm sure the subsequent western versions were licensed and authorized. But was the Indianized version authorized by the original's license owners? That's what holds the key between a plagiarized work and an inspired one!
23
Dil deke dekho [Dil deke dekho] <TC>
Composer: Usha Khanna
Lifted from the song 'Sugar in the morning' by The McGuire Sisters.
Listen to Dil deke dekho | Sugar in the morning
Absolute lift!
24
Kayee din se mujhe [Akhiyon ke jharokon se] <TC>
Composer: Ravindra Jain
Inspired by Mozart's 40th Symphony, Movement 3
Listen to Kayee din se mujhe | Mozart's 40th Sym. Mt. 3
Damn good improvisation by Ravindra Jain.
25
Rahen ne rahen hum [Mamta]
Composer: Roshan
The opening violin intro is inspired by Ron Goodwin's 'Return to Paradise'.
Listen to Rahen ne rahen hum | Return to Paradise
The violin intro is a rather clumsy Indian version (IMO) for those who've heard the original for ages! The rest of the actual tune is Roshan's original.
26
Chaand chupa [Hum dil de chuke sanam] <TC>
Composer: Ismail Darbar
Inspired by the Love story theme by Francis Lai
Listen to Francis Lai's theme from Love Story | Chaand chupa
Inspired.
27
oo babu o lala [Dilli ka thug] <TC>
Composer: Ravi
Lifted from 'Rum and coca cola' by The Andrew Sisters!
Listen to Oo babu o lala | Rum and coca cola
Ditto!
28
Title song [Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam] <TC>
Composer: Nikhil Vinay
Lifted straight from 'Boohey Barian' by Pakistani singer Hadiqa Kiyani!
Listen to Hum tumhare hain sanam | Boohey Barian
Ditto and shocking! Check Nadeem Shravan's lift of the same original - Hindi - NS page, listing no. 20!
29
Wafa na raas aayee [Bewafa Sanam] <TC>
Composer: ?
Lifted straight from Ataullah Khan's 'Wafa na raas aayee'!
Listen to Wafa na raas aayee | Kameez teri kaali
Ditto
30
Purvaiya leke chalo [Do Jasoos] <TC>
Composer: Ravindra Jain (Movie released in 1975)
Inspired by Osibisa's 1971 number 'Woyaya' (We are going)
Listen to Purvaiya leke chalo | Woyaya
Good improvisation, but pretty much the same tune!
31
Aaja zara [Ek Jhalak] <TC>
Composer: Hemant Kumar
Lifted from Perez Prado's Cherry pink and apple blossom white.
Listen to Aaja zara | Cherry pink and apple blossom white
Ditto!
32
Nigahon mein tum [Bharat Bhagya Vidata] <TC>
Composer: ?
Inspired by 'too much tequila' by The Champs (1960).
Listen to Nigahon mein ho tum | Too much tequila
Inspired!
33
Woh kaun thi [Album by Jojo] <TC>
Composer: ? , Singer: Jojo
Direct lift of Pakistani Band, Vital Signs' 'Woh kaun thi'.
Listen to Woh kaun thi (Jojo) | Woh kaun thi (Vital Signs)
Ditto! I also happened to come across an interview of Jojo in the Nazara website where, when asked what is the inspiration behind 'woh kaun thi', he says "....inspiration... for woh kaun thi... well just an expectation of somebody in your life... a mystery"!!!!?
34
Dil dil se milakar dekho [Memsahib] <TC>
Composer: Madan Mohan
Inspired by the 1934 hit number 'Isle of capri'.
Listen to Dil dil se milakar dekho | Isle of capri
Inspired!
35
Chod aaye hum [Maachis (1996)]
Composer: Vishal Bharadwaj
The famous whistling in the Hindi song inspired by the song, 'il campo di pallone' from the soundtrack of the Italian movie 'caro diario'!
Listen to Chod aaye hum | il campo di pallone
The composer of Caro diario was Nicola Piovani who was also the composer of the Oscar winning 'La vita e bella', better known as 'Life is beautiful'. Wonder if Vishal and Gulzar saab saw the movie in some international film festival in Mumbai and decided that this piece was too good to resist!!?
36
Do chamakti aankhon mein [Detective (1958)] <TC>
Composer: Mukul Roy
Lifted from Harry Belafonte's 'Jamaica Farewell' (1956)
Listen to Do chamakti aankhon mein | Jamaica Farewell
Ditto!
37
Yeh raaste hain pyaar ke [Yeh raaste hain pyaar ke (1963)] <TC>
Composer: Ravi
Inspired by the song 'Andalucia' by Ernesto Lecuona.
Listen to Yeh raaste hain pyaar ke | Andalucia
'Andalucia' was originally written in 1930 by Ernesto Lecuona as part of his 'Spanish Suite'. It was later performed by itself by his band, the Lecuona Cuban Boys. The song enjoyed some success, but it was ten years later, when Jimmy Dorsey recorded it in 1941, as a vocal number (by the name, 'Breeze and I), with Bob Eberly singing Al Stillman's lyrics, that it became a #1 hit in the U.S. It's a wistful song, in which the singer laments that his love is known only to 'the breeze and I'.
38
Haal tujhe apni [Aasha (1957)] <TC>
Composer: C Ramachandra
Inspired by the song 'Andalucia' by Ernesto Lecuona. (refer last entry!)
Listen to Haal tujhe apni | Andalucia
Refer notes in the previous entry! 
39
Kammo...Mera dil le gayee [Ziddi (1997)] <TC>
Composer: Dilip Sen Sameer Sen
Lifted from Pakistani pop singer Abrar Ul Haq's 'Billo de ghar'
Listen to Kammo | Billo de ghar
Lifted, updated and remixed. Abrar's album (of the same name) came out in 1996 and was a smash hit!
40
Babaloo [Jhumroo (1961)] <TC>
Composer: Kishore Kumar
Inspired by The Champs' 1957 smash hit, 'Tequila'
Listen to Babaloo | Tequila
Also, check out the other recent version of Tequila (this page, listing no. 06). Apart from the 2 songs mentioned above, another really famous S D Burman number sounds like the opening line of Tequila. How about 'Mere sapnon ki rani kab' from Aradhana (1969)? But yes, the similarity is strictly restricted to the first line only!
Listen to Mere sapnon ki rani kab
Trivia on Tequila: Dave Burgess of The Champs was working a session, one afternoon in 1957. With some studio time remaining, Burgess asked the other musicians to stay, to help him come up with a B-side for a record he had previously recorded. One musician offered a Tex-Mex sax line, another a snappy guitar riff, the drummer played a backbeat on the bell of his cymbal and Burgess plucked the muted strings of his electric guitar. The song was called "Tequila" and in ten minutes they had a take. Everyone who heard the tune liked it and Challenge Records decided to release it immediately. Demo copies were sent to major deejays across the country in late December, 1957. "Tequila" was topping both the "pop" and R&B charts by March 1958 and went on to sell a million copies and win the 1958 Grammy for Best Rhythm and Blues Performance.
41
O priya o priya [Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye (2000)] <TC>
Composer: Himesh Reshammiyya
Lifted from Santana's 'Maria'!
Listen to O priya o priya | Maria
Himesh Reshammiyya has so far been a consistently 'dinchak-jhatak-matak' kind of music director - a dream come true for someone like David Dhawan who has worked with him in Dulhan Hum Le Jaayenge and now in Yeh Hai Jalwa. Surprisingly, barring a few numbers, Himesh hasn't lifted much in his films so far. Hence it came as a surprise when I heard 'O priya o priya' from the Salman starrer 'Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye' (2000, the movie itself was a lift of the Adam Sandler starrer, 'The Wedding Singer'). The song was a direct lift from Santana's chartbusting 'Maria' (1999 - Featuring The Product G&B, Produced by Wyclef Jean). Even more surprising is that many online music reviews haven't mentioned this lift...in fact a Subash K Jha review in Indya.com says this about this song "...O priya priya with its sing-along chant has a key interlude taken from A R Rahman's Mere paas hai tu in Taal. That apart, Reshammiya has been able to squeeze a semblance of sympathetic melody into O priya"! (Indya.com - KPNHJ)
42
Tip tip barsa paani [Mohra]
Composer: Viju Shah
The prominent interlude/prelude inspired by Dr Alban's 'Roll down di rubber man'.
Listen to Tip tip barsa paani | Roll down di rubber man
To be fair to Viju Shah, he sure has worked considerably on this piece!
43
Ai ajnabee [Deewangi (2002)] <TC>
Composer: Ismail Darbar
Lifted from Portugese 'Fado' singer, Dulce Pontes' song, 'Cancao do mar'!
Listen to Ai Ajnabee | Cancao Do Mar
Two interesting things to note here....'Cancao do mar' was part of the soundtrack of 'Primal fear' from whose plot Deewangi has been inspired. And second, 'cancao do mar' has already been lifted as-is in Tamil, for the movie Kushi, with music by Deva! This is probably Ismail Darbar's first blatant lift...I can almost see Director Anees Bazmee and Producer Nitin Manmohan compelling Ismail to lift this number...but you never know...!
Also listen to the Tamil version Oh Vennila [Kushi]
44
Aaj ki ladki [Mujse Dosti Karoge (2002)]
Composer: Rahul Sharma
An interlude sounds exactly similar to a piece from Afro Celt Sound System's 'Lovers of Light' (1999).
Listen to Aaj ki ladki | Lovers of light
Its just a small piece so no big deal, actually! It doesn't impact the main tune anyway!
45
Andheri Raaton Mein [Shahenshah (1987)]
Composer: Amar Utpal
Inspired in part by the song, 'Mother' by The Police (1983, Synchronicity). 
Listen to Andheri Raaton Mein | Mother
Even though Amar Utpal have used a pretty familiar Bollywood'ish tune for the actual song, Mother has its stamp all over the Hindi track! An interesting inspiration! For a song that was voted as the least favorite of all Police numbers, its quite strange that Amar Utpal chose it to base his Shahenshah number!
46
Dil Ko [Rehna Hai Terre Dil Mein (2001)] <TC>
Composer: Harris Jeyaraj
Inspired by Secret Garden's 'Song from a secret garden'.
Listen to Dil Ko | Song from a secret garden
'Dil Ko' was supposedly inspired by tracks like 'This is my song' (courtesy: The Music Magazine) and Mr Big's Wild World. But the secret garden track is a more direct source of inspiration. The chord progressions are exactly lifted, in my opinion, to form a cohesive Filmi tune! 
47
ABCDEFGHI... [Hum Saath Saath Hain (1999)] <TC>
Composer: Ram Laxman
Inspired by the Spanish track, 'Por que te vas?' by singer Jeanette.
Listen to ABCDEFGHI... | Por que te vas?
The 1974 Spanish movie 'Cria Cuervos' had the song 'Por que te vas?' sung by singer Jeanette and composed by Jose Luis Perales. Wonder how on earth did Ram Laxman think of lifting this song!!
Trivia note on Jeanette: Jeanette was actually an American singer and started recording in the late 60's with the Spanish group Pic-Nic. In the 70's she went solo and her biggest hit to date was 'Por que te vas?', the song that featured in the 1974 film 'Cria cuervos'. The original was composed by Jose Luis Perales.
48
Aye aye ya ya [Pran Jaaye Par Shaan Na Jaaye (2003)] <TC>
Composer: Daboo Malik
Lifted LSB from Los Lobos' 'Cancion del mariachi' from the soundtrack of the 1995 hit, 'Desperado'
Listen to Aye aye ya ya | Cancion del mariachi
"When did you realise that you had it in you to compose? 
I don’t know when exactly, but its been a little while now. For me composing songs started like a sudden eruption of a volcano. All of a sudden my head was filled with tunes, which kept coming just like that. So much so that I used to carry a walkman with me wherever I went, in the bathroom, in the lift, so that I could record the tune immediately. I didn’t quite understand what struck me. In six months’ time I was ready with more than 400 melodies. And what spurred me further was the acceptability by the industry. If I had one sitting with a filmmaker, I would immediately get a reaction in the form of praise, or a film offer came to me." 
-- Daboo Malik, brother of Anu Malik, in a recent interview with Screen Magazine.

Looks like these 'tunes' in Daboo's head have already visited Los Lobos' head before landing up in his!
49
Hum Pyaar Tera Jo [Market (2003)] <TC>
Composer: Altaf Raja
Direct rip-off of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's 'Yeh Shaam Phir Nahi Aayegi' (1996, from the album 'Sangam' which had lyrics by Javed Akhtar).
Listen to Hum pyaar tera jo | Yeh shaam phir nahi aayegi
Bah!
50
Aankhen meri maikhana [Sawan Bhadon (1970)] <TC>
Composer: Sonic Omi
Partly inspired by the prelude of the 1966 track by The Standells, "Black is black".
Listen to Aankhen meri maikhana | Black is black (Cover version by Los Bravos, 1966)
Strangely enough, the uncle-nephew duo of Sonik Omi decided not the lift the main tune of the original, and instead created their tune out of the prelude. However, this prelude is a bit too common in terms of its progression.
51
Dil Ke Badle [Zameer (2003)] <TC>
Composer: Nikhil Vinay
DIRECT lift of the track by the same wordings, from the Pakistani film, 'Ghar kab aao ge' (2000)
Listen to Dil ke badle (Ghar kab aao ge) | Dil ke badle (Zameer)
The original Pakistani film, 'Ghar Kab Aao Ge' was released in 2000, with music by Amjad Bobby and lyrics by Qateel Shifai. Wonder why Nikhil Vinay have been credited with this 'so-called' Hindi version while everything, from lyrics, to tune are lifted. Also wonder who actually got the credit for the lyrics for the 'Zameer' version....if its anybody else other than Qateel Shifai, I'm sure its a joke!
52
Koyi aayega [Asambhav (2004)]
Composer: Viju Shah
Partly inspired by the 60s Noor Jehan track, 'Mahi aave ga' that was remixed and resung by Shazia Manzoor in 2000.
Listen to Koyi aayega | Mahi aave ga
53
Thandi hawa yeh chandni suhani [Jhumroo (1961)] <TC>
Composer: Kishore Kumar
Lifted of Julius La Rosa's 1955 classic, 'Domani'.
Listen to Thandi hawa | Domani
54
Yeh rut yeh raat jawan [Sailaab (1954)] <TC>
Composer: Mukul Roy
Inspired by Perez Prado's 'El Negro Zumbon', also used under the name 'El Bayon' in the 1951 Italian cult classic, 'Anna'.
Listen to Yeh rut yeh raat jawan | El Negro Zumbon
55
Shava shava [Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham (2001)] <TC>
Composer: Aadesh Shrivastava
The slower passages in the middle of the song that goes, 'Delha tenu pehli pehli...' is a direct lift from Shazia Manzoor's track 'Batiyan bujaye rakhdi'..
Listen to Shava Shava (mid portion) | Batiyaan Bujaye Rakhdi
Shazia's original track was part of her 1999 album, 'Chan Makhna'. The original is a super energetic track while Aadesh has used it for what Bollywood calls, 'Pathos' mood :-)
56
Gela Gela [Aitraaz (2004)] <TC>
Composer: Himesh Reshammiya
Inspired by R Kelly's 'Thoia Thoing'
Listen to Gela Gela | Thoia Thoing
R Kelly's track was part of his 2003 album, 'Chocolate Factory'
57
Nimbuda Nimbuda [Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999)] <TC>
Composer: Ismail Darbar
Inspired by Ghazni Khan Manganiyar's Rajasthani Folk song, 'Nimbuda'
Listen to Nimbuda [Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam] | Nimbuda [Original]
If you'd like to listen to the full version of the folk song, click here (check out 'Nimbuda Nimbuda'!)
Take a look at these 2 (out of many other sites) sites that talk of this song being a lift from a Rajasthani Manganiyar folk song!
Diverse Strains | Sunday Tribune
I completely agree with Shuba Mudgal (who has penned the write-up in Diverse Strains) when she asks, "If we can listen to a folk song in a blockbuster movie, why can we not give an occasional patient hearing to the original?" Ismail Darbar had a wonderful chance to handle this in the right way, but I wonder why he messed it up and ended with a 'plagiarist' tag - that too in his much-celebrated debut. All he had to do was to add a note of credit to the original composer of the song, Rajasthani folk singer Ghazni Khan Manganiyar, so that people can differentiate between the original and the Bollywood version - when you listen to the two you'd understand the kind of work that Ismail has put in, in his version and made a simple, 'otherwise-restricted-to-a-few-discerning-listeners' track into an ultra-catchy dance number! Its a pity that decided to pass it as his original composition.
58
Daud Title Song [Daud (1999)] 
Composer: A R Rahman
A piece towards the end of the song sounds like 'If I were a rich man' from Fiddler on the Roof.
Listen to Daud Title Song (Remo) | Daud Title Song (Usha) | Rich Girl | If I were a rich man
The tune heard (for a fleeting few seconds, in the beginning of the advt. when the girl opens a Pepsi bottle) in the Pepsi advt. is a track called 'Rich Girl' by Gwen Stefani. Gwen's 'Rich Girl' itself borrows heavily from the track, 'If I were a rich man' from the famous play/ movie, 'Fiddler on the roof' (1951 Broadway version, 1971 Movie version) and I believe this is credited too. Rahman's Daud title song (that has 2 versions - by Usha Uthup and Remo Fernandes) uses the main part of this tune right towards the end of the song and sounds more like a tribute to 'Fiddler...'. Did Rahman use it as a tribute fully knowing that he's using so-and-so? Only he could answer!
59
Didi Tera Devar [Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994)] <TC>
Composer: Ram Laxman
Inspired by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's 'Saare Nabian'
Listen to Didi Tera Devar | Saare Nabian (Relevant edited portion containing prelude and ending)
Partly inspired with adequate improvisations from Ram Laxman.
60
Tridev Theme [Tridev (1989)] <TC>
Composer: Kalyanji Anandji (Viju Shah)
Lifted from Pet Shop Boys' 1984 track, 'One more chance'
Listen to Tridev theme | One more chance
This theme that borrows generously from Pet Shop Boys' 1984 track (also famously voted as one of PSB's worst songs!). I still remember the kind of euphoria Tridev (and other soundtracks like QSQT, Dil etc.) generated back in the end of 80s. Almost every home had the sad looking audio tape played many times over in family dos! I was completely zapped by Tridev's techno [ :-) ] theme when I heard it first. Now I know who the credit should go to!
61
62
'Kaisi paheli hai yeh' and 'Soona man ka' [Parineeta (2005)] <TC>
Composer: Shantanu Moitra
'Kaisi...' lifted straight off Louis Armstrong's 1951 track 'A Kiss To Build A Dream On' while a line in 'Soona...' is lifted from Tagore's 'Phoole phoole'!
Listen to Kaisi paheli hai yeh | A kiss to build a dream on
Listen to Soona man ka (edited) | Phoole phoole
'A Kiss To Build A Dream On' is from the soundtrack of the 1951 film 'The Strip', written and composed by Bert Kalmar; Harry Ruby; Oscar Hammerstein II. For a 'considered-talented' newcomer this is disastrous and rather shameful.
63
64
'Dillagi' and 'Marjawan' [Aashiq Banaya Aapne (2005)] <TC>
Composer: Himesh Reshamiyya
Lifted off Ali Zafar's Rangeen and Faakhir's Marjawan, respectively!
Listen to Dillagi | Rangeen
Listen to Marjawan (ABA) | Marjawan (Faakhir)
Ali Zafar's 'Rangeen' from his 2003 album, 'Huqa Pani' while Faakhir's 'Marjawan' from his 2002 album, 'Aatish'.
65
Pyar ki kasam [Dil deke dekho (1959)] <TC>
Composer: Usha Khanna
Copied from Ivory Joe Hunter's 1956 hit 'Since I met you baby'!
Listen to Pyar ki kasam | Since I met you baby
Blatant lift!
66
Urzu urzu durkut [Yahaan (2005)] <TC>
Composer: Shantanu Moitra
Inspired by Altan's 'Dulaman'
Listen to Urzu urzu durkut | Dulaman
Inspired. Dulaman was part of Altan's 1993 album Island Angel.
67
Sajna [Waisa bhi hota hai (2003)] 
Composer: Shibani Kashyap
The prelude (opening) used directly from Thomas Dolby's 'I love you goodbye' from the 1992 album, 'Astronauts and Heretics'
Listen to Sajna | I love you goodbye
Considering the fact the main tune is completely different, is this a homage?
68
Ola Ola [Jaana - Lets fall in love (2006)] <TC>
Composer: Guru Sharma
Blatant lift from Modern Talking's 2000 track, 'No Face No Name No Number'
Listen to Ola ola | No face no name no number
The film's soundtrack has 6 composers and this one is by Guru Sharma. Turns out that he didn't actually compose it either. He merely added Hindi lyrics to it since it is originally by Modern Talking...a track called 'No face, no name, no number' (2000, album: Year of the dragon - not to be confused with Traffic's 1967 track of the same name from the album 'Mr Fantasy').
69
Pal pal [Lage Raho Munnabhai (2006)] <TC>
Composer: Shantanu Moitra
Inspired by Cliff Richard's evergreen 'Theme for a dream' (1961)
Listen to Pal pal | Theme for a dream
Almost every review of the soundtrack noticed the lift from Cliff Richard's 'Theme for a dream' (1961). But what intrigues me is another popular 80s track, 'When you're in love with a beautiful woman' by Dr Hook sounds very similar to Cliff Richard's track and subsequently, to the one by Shantanu. Its worth noting here that Dr Hok's track has already inspired 2 other direct Hindi tracks - Bappi Lahiri's 'Mere jaisi haseena' (Armaan) and Anu Malik's 'O mere neend churane waale' (Chamatkar)! So, what's the story behind Dr Hook now?
Listen to
Mere jaisi haseena | O mere neend churane waale
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Mele chaliyan [Yahaan (2005)] <TC>
Composer: Shantanu Moitra
Lifted directly off a traditional Punjabi wedding track with the same lyrics, made famous by Musarrat Nazir.
Listen to Mele chaliyan (Yahaan) | Mele Chaliyan (Musarrat Nazir)
There's absolutely no mention of any such thing in the CD of Yahaan and worse, Gulzar is credited for the lyrics. Check out Musarrat's version...doesn't seem to be very different in terms of lyrics!
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Kaun Aaya...meri Neeta [Dil deke dekho (1959)] <TC>
Composer: Usha Khanna
Direct lift from Paul Anka's 'Diana'
Listen to Kaun aaya | Diana
Direct and blatant. Check the next listing for another lift of the same original!
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Bol bol bol [Baap Bete (1959)] <TC>
Composer: Madan Mohan
Lifted off Paul Anka's 'Diana'
Listen to Bol bol bol | Diana
The overall feel is mildly tweaked, but basic tune is a rather direct lift.
Trivia on Paul Anka's Diana: Diana refers to Paul Anka's neighbor, Diana Ayoub on whom Paul had a crush when he was 15. Paul recorded the song at the same age, in 1956. The music was based on a popular Latin rhythm called cha-lypso, a modified cha-cha done to a calypso beat. Cha-lypso had been invented a only a few months earlier. It has been reported that "Diana" has been recorded over three hundred times in sixteen countries between 1957 and 1963. Worldwide Anka's version reportedly has sold more then nine million copies.
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Subah subah [Yash (1996)] <TC>
Composer: Tabun Sutradhar
Racy version of a Bengali folk track, 'Boli o nonodi'
Listen to Subah subah | Boli o nonodi
I usually stay away from intra-Indian lifts, but chose to add this since it was a fairly big hit for a struggling composer, back in 1996! Sung by Jojo, this track made quite a splash in 1996 through the ratings it notched up in Superhit Muqabla. Tabun is still struggling, but this track, which gave him recognition seems to be ripped straight of a Bengali folk track, 'Boli o nonodi'. One of the best known versions of the original folk happens to be by singer Sapna (Swapna) Chakraborty that is supposed to have released in 1978.
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Title Song [Life mein kabhi kabhi (2007)] <TC>
Composer: Lalit Pandit
Lifted from Amr Diab's 2000 track 'Eni alem allah'.
Listen to Life mein kabhi kabhi | Eni alem allah
Already lifted by Sanjeev Darshan for the 2003 film Aanch, in the song, 'Dil ke armaan'! Check out Sanjeev Darshan page, listing no. 17.
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Aarzoo hai [Kaisay Kahein (2007)] <TC>
Composers: Imran Ali and Subhendu Mukherjee
Lifted from Chandrabindoo's 'Aaj abar' from the 1999 album 'Twaker Jatna Nin'.
Listen to Aarzoo hai | Aaj abar
With so much attention on Pritam's lifting spree, here's a case where the man is perhaps not connected at all and still is being blamed - just because he has composed 2 other songs in the soundtrack. A report in Calcutta Times on August 10th has the Bangla band Chandrabindoo and their record label fuming. Reason: Their song, 'Aaj abar' from the 1999 album 'Twaker Jatna Nin' is lifted pretty much directly as 'Aarzoo hai', in the soundtrack of Kaisay Kahein (2007). The funny thing is Pritam has composed just two tracks (Kee kasoor and the title song) and has been specifically credited just for those. The other tracks are credited to their respective composers - quite unusually for a Hindi film soundtrack - a great feat in itself. Despite that, our Chandrabindoo friends talk at great length about how their former band member Pritam sought their permission to use 'Aaj abar' and then forgot all about the crediting bit and so on. I wonder what the actual truth is, since the much-maligned Pritam is completely out of the picture even in the CD sleeve, as regards this particular track!
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Yamma yamma [Chinatown (1962)] <TC>
Composer: Ravi
Lifted from the Persian folk track, 'Mastom mastom'.
Listen to Yamma yamma | Mastom Mastom - Pari Zangeneh | Mitra
The song is a blatant lift from a traditional Persian song called, 'Mastom mastom' made popular by many singers. The versions included include are by Pari Zangeneh and Mitra. The song even features a small piece that's lifted from the Egyptian track, 'Ya mustafa' (which has been lifted since, by R D Burman (No.5 in RDB page) and Nadeem Shravan (No.4 in NS page). Ravi's mix'n'match skills at work, I suppose.
Watch Chinatown's Yamma Yamma here!
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Showbiz (2007) <TC>
Composer: Lalit Pandit
'Tu mujhse' lifted from Nepali singer Sugam Pokhrel's 2003 track, 'Mero mann', from the album, 'Highway'.
'Duniya ne' lifted off Amr Diab's 'Albi Ikhtarak' from his 2000 album, 'Tamally Maak'.
'Mere falak' lifted from Amr Diab's 'We malo' from the album 'Kammel Kalamak' (2005).
'Kaash ek din' inspired by Amr Diab's 'Ma3ak begad' from 'Kammel Kalamak' again!
Listen to Tu mujhse (Rap version) | Tu mujhse (normal version) | Mero mann
Listen to Duniya ne | Albi Ikhtarak (Rishtey - Deewana deewana)
Listen to Mere falak | We malo
Listen to Kaash ek din | Ma3ak begad
Considering 'Mere ibadat' is a small'ish bit song version of Kaash ek din, there are just 4 songs in this soundtrack. All of them are lifted. And, with that Lalit Pandit enters ItwoFS Hall of Shame, along with Sanjeev Darshan (for Mann) for lifting every single song in a soundtrack. A huge round of applause to Lalit Pandit. Interestingly, the film's promos show Sugam Pokhrel's name as the original composer of 'Tu mujhse' while the audio CD is blissfully unaware of this connection. The other 3 tracks are lifted off Amr Diab, and Albi Ikhtarak has already been adequately lifted by Sanjeev Darshan, as 'Deewana deewana' in Rishtey (No. 10, Sanjeev Darshan page)!
81
Govinda Theme - Sarkar Raj (2008) <TC>
Composer: Bapi Tutul
Lifted off the main title theme of Omen II, composed by Jerry Goldsmith.
Listen to Govinda Theme | Omen II - Main Title
Ram Gopal Varma's love for horror films/ horror film theme pieces continues - into Sarkar Raj. The composer seems to be getting out of work, ignored and neglected composers to compose music based on his personal fetish. So, in Sarkar Raj (2008), for a musical piece titled, 'Govinda Theme' he gets Bapi Tutul (again!) to lift and Indianize the Main Title theme of Omen II (1978), which had stunning music by Jerry Goldsmith. RGV, being the maverick he is, even accepts this life in his blog - can someone use this against him and sue him, please?
22. I could recollect omen II listening to the tracks of Sarkar Raj.
Ans: - Yes I copied it from there. I saw Omen II seven times in Vijaywada, Leela Mahal just to listen to the title track.
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Chhodiye gussa huzoor - Detective (1958) <TC>
Composer: Mukul Roy
Inspired by the 50s hit, Bimbo.
Listen to Chhodiye gussa huzoor | Bimbo (Jim Reeves' version)
Mukul Roy's score in the 1958 Pradeep Kumar, Mala Sinha starrer, Detective is already tainted - 'Do chamkti aankhon mein' lifted straight off Harry Belafonte's 'Jamaica Farewell'. Here's the second - 'Chhodiye gussa huzoor' inspired by the 50s hit, 'Bimbo'. Bimbo was first written by Rodney Morris and recorded by Gene Autry in 1953. The song was released as a 78 rpm single by Capitol Records. But the song became a massive hit when Jim Reeves covered it shortly thereafter - it was one of the early hits of Jim Reeves. Mukul Roy, despite the tag of being Geeta (Roy) Dutt's brother, seems to have composed for just three films and Detective is one of them.
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Soniye je tere naal & Lut jaaoon - Karzzzz (2008) <TC>
Composer: Himesh Reshammiya/ T-series
Lifted off Kulwinder Kally's 2002 number of the same title!
Listen to Soniye je tere naal (Karzzzz) | Sohniye je tere naal (Kulwinder Kally)
Listen to Lut jaaoon | Punjab (Karunesh)
Without getting into the sleep inducing nature of the album, I should add that Himesh, despite the number of songs he has composed in a short span of time has been reasonably clear of plagiarism charges - 2 lifts in Aashiq Banaya Aapne were attributed by him to the film's director (not in the CD though, which simply credits Himesh for all songs!). But he has his share of lifts in the form of Kahin pyaar na ho jaaye's 'O priya o priya' and Aitraaz's 'Gela gela'. That is still a mighty small number for someone with so many songs to his credit - but here's the latest! Karzzzz's 'Soniye je tere naal' seems to be a replica of a Punjabi folk song with the same lyrics and was part of Punjabi singer Kulwinder Kally's 2002 album, Sham Wali Gaddi. While the record label has credited SAREGAMA India for the 'Ek haseena thi' remix - the a credit to Laxmikant Pyarelal and George Benson's 'We as love' could have been very appropriate! - there is just no credit to the folk song or its roots. Given Himesh's penchant for staying original, how did he pass this tune as his own?

Even before the Soniye nee tere lift in Himesh's latest, Karzzzz, there were mumblings over the Karunesh-styled 'Lut jaaoon'. It bears an uncanny resemblance to Karunesh's 2000 super hit, 'Punjab', a loung'ish remix of OP Nayyar's 'Aao huzoor tumko', from the album, Global Spirit. Given the fact that the German born Karunesh (real name: Bruno Reuter) samples a lot of Indian pieces and vocals, the Punjabi vocals (not the 'Aao huzoor tumko' part) in 'Punjab' too could be sampled from another source, though both the female vocalist and the composer of this particular tune has not been credited. But, Himesh seems to have used a huge chunk of Punjab, including the tune for the female, Punjabi vocals and most importantly, the loung'ish backgrounds, which is why this entry finds its place in ItwoFS. If it was just the vocals (or the tune for the vocals) he'd have done something very similar to Karunesh, but his Lut jaaoon seems to be inspired directly by Karunesh's Punjab as a package - almost as if he interspersed his 'Oooohs' and the core tune within 'Punjab'. Any idea who the singer in Karunesh's Punjab is?
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Yara sili sili - Lekin (1991) <TC>
Composer: Hridaynath Mangeshkar
Inspired by the Pakistani singer Reshma's folk song, Chori chori!
Listen to Yara sili sili | Chori chori (Reshma)
I do understand that the original's composer and year are unknown in many cases, but that doesn't mean they can be passed off as Hridaynath Mangeshkar's composition, for instance. They could have been easily credited as 'Traditional folk song', but I suppose the Hindi composers chose not to do so.

While editing Reshma's Chori chori, I started humming something else and ended up with Bappi Lahiri's 'Chori chori' from Dalal! Yes, that delightful melody from Bappi da in that god-awful film. Looks like Bappi da has very cleverly used the same source to come up with a fabulous number!
Listen to Chori chori (Dalal)
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Title song - Sorry Bhai (2008) <TC>
Composer: Vivek Philip
Inspired by Justin Timberlake's 2007 chartbuster, 'What goes around'
Listen to Sorry Bhai | What goes around
The film has music by Gaurav Dayal, who was till now mired in B-gradism - non-starter Indipop aspirant Shael's album, Say Salaam India and so on. This film could be his ticket to better things. Strangely, Onir hands over the film's title song to another hopeless composer, Vivek Philip. And what does Mr Philip do? He seeks generous inspiration from none other than Justin Timberlake's 2007 chartbuster, 'What goes around'...yes the same one with the steamy video featuring Timberlake and Scarlett Johansson. Its a clever lift though - the rhythm is slightly spruced up, a bit faster, but the starting line and the chorus gives it away very easily. The whole song seems to be carefully and deliberately modeled along the original!
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Ramji O Ramji - Itihaas (1997) <TC>
Composer: Dilip Sen Sameer Sen
Completely lifted off Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's 'Maar gai udeek din'.
Listen to Ramji O Ramji | Maar gai udeek din raat
The song, Ramji O Ramji is an astonishingly direct lift from Nusrat's 'Maar gai udeek din raat'. The original was featured in a compilation titled, 'The Immortal Duo' (Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Madam Noor Jahan, that is!) that came released in Pakistan in 1996.
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Soniye - Raaz The Mystery Continues (2009) <TC>
Composer: Raju Singh
Lifted off Ben E King's Stand By Me
Listen to Soniyo | Stand By Me
The tune and backgrounds are straight lifts from the cult classic, Stand By Me, made popular by Ben E. King, back in the 50s. Mighty shocking lift, this...given how closely it has been copied and how popular the original is with numerous cover versions down the years!
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Parwazen - A Wednesday (2008) <TC>
Composer: Sanjoy Chowdhury
Shameful usage of an FLStudio sample named 'Aren't you clever'
Listen to Parwazen | Aren't you clever
Veteran composer Salil Chowdhury's son, Sanjoy Chowdhury made a middling film debut in Neeraj Pandey's surprise hit, A Wednesday, last year. As if the sub-standard soundtrack is not enough, here's one more reason to be annoyed with the soundtrack and Sanjoy's debut - the song, Parwazen, sung by Shaan. ItwoFS reader Anudutt points out the alarming similarity between Parwazen and a track titled, 'Aren't you clever' by someone names Laurie Webb and Mr. Clever. Now, this isn't as simple as it seems - the complete song, 'Aren't you clever' is supposedly a demo song in the popular music producing software, FL Studio (Fruity Loops). There's precious little about Laurie Webb on the net too! The same guitar sequence can be heard in Telugu composer Mickey J Meyer's 'Lalijo' from the film Hare Ram. But, there the similarity is minimal, as if Mickey has built his song ground up with the use of a ready loop. In Sanjoy's case, its ditto!

Considering I'm not entirely clued in to the Fruity Loops story, here are a few questions.
a. Is Sanjoy that lazy that he just appropriates a demo song as-is and that too in his debut?
b. Is this fair use? Yes, the song may be a demo, but can a composer who has paid for the software (assuming) use the demo track as-is to create a commercial track?
c. Is the composer required to disclose the source, even if this is a demo track?

The reason why I'm asking these questions is because composers these days heavily rely on samples and loops, but here, Laurie Webb's entire song is being used exactly with very minimal changes. Could someone who has used FLStudio clarify if this entire track is available as a demo that can just be used so easily? In any case, it reflects poorly on Sanjoy.

Vijay Narain wrote in to say, "...yes there's a demo by the name 'Aren't you clever' by a Mr. Special. Now the specialty is that the demo opens as a .flp (FL studio project file) in which the individual loops, waves and other elements in the song sequence are present. This is for the user to understand the power of the software. In our (A Wednesday) case, the music director has used the power of the software alone, and none else. He has simply muted the audio track in the demo, added a new audio track (the Hindi one) and exported in as a wav or mp3 file. In total, this should take about 10 minutes. Even if FL studio provides the buyer with rights for the demo, from an ethical point of view, I think it is a crying shame for the composer!"

Anush Moorthy writes, "I use FL studio regularly and have heard this demo track sometime ago. It's very very easy to reuse it since the guitar strumming is a wav file set which can easily be pulled. In fact, listening to Sanjoy's version it seems that he has just used the same .flp (Fl studio file) as is, with a minimal beat addition. Again, this is very easy to do...he has just removed the wav file which has the voice - just one layer!"
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Tennu le & Aisa lashkara - Jai Veeru (2009) <TC>
Composer: Bappa Lahiri
Blatant lifts off Omar Inayat's You've got something and Cheb Mami's Nos Couleurs
Listen to Tennu le | You've got something
Listen to Aisa lashkara | Nos Couleurs
The original, sung (and lyrics) by Pakistani singer Omar Inayat is nothing but a mildly rehashed version of Omar's own composition from his 2006 debut album, Be The One. The original was titled, 'You've got something'. Now, the CD sleeve of Jai Veeru credits just one composer, Bappa Lahiri and merely credits Omar Inayat for the vocals and lyrics of 'Tennu le'. That, my friends, is THE problem. This is not Bappa's composition - he's merely remixed it - and I'm not entirely sure what Omar gave T-Series/ Jai Veeru's producers to be part of this soundtrack, with no composing credits - his soul? Funnily enough, there is an actual remix of this track, which lists DJ Akhil Talreja as the remixer! So, how is this different from Bappa's remix? This is plain terrible - here's a talented Pakistani composer/ singer who is a fairly successful in his home country and he goes on to sell his composition to an Indian record label just like that?

Aisa Lashkara, sung by Hard Kaur and Rema Lahiri (another from the Bappi clan?) is nothing but an extraordinarily direct, note-to-note lift from Rai music superstar (the other one, not Khaled), Cheb Mami's song, 'Nos Couleurs' from his 2006 album, Layali. The lift is amazingly brain-dead, almost like a translation with dead similar use of the original's orchestration. The original of course, in true Cheb Mami style is a rocking track, so its no wonder Bappa decided to lift it oh-so-unabashedly.
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Aaja gori - Do Shikari (1979) <TC>
Composer: Chitragupt
Pitiable copy from Harry Belafonte's Coconut Woman
Listen to Aaja gori | Coconut woman
Towards the fag end of his career, composing duo, Anand Milind's dad, Chitragupt unleashed quite a few abominations on hapless listeners (and viewers of those films). One of them was the 1979 track that goes, 'Hey hey…jamburi ja ke jambu….aa ja gori dil mein rakh le tujhe', sung, again, very enthusiastically by Kishore Kumar. Alas, the tune is a mishmash of a popular Harry Belafonte number from 1963 called 'Coconut Woman'. Its one those of those completely mindless lifts where the composer seems to have left the 'composing' to his minions and the trusted record player.
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Pehle to meri - Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye (2009) <TC>
Composer: Lalit Sen
Lifted from Turkish pop superstar Serdar Ortac's song, 'Sor' (meaning, 'ask') from the 2006 album, Mesafe
Listen to Pehle to meri | Sor
This song is an unabashed lift from Turkish pop superstar Serdar Ortac's song, 'Sor' (meaning, 'ask') from the 2006 album, Mesafe (meaning, 'distance'). This is one of Lalit usual, braindead lifts and warrants no further sarcastic comment. But, Sedar Ortac rings a strong bell for me personally - I actually had a cassette (tape) of Ortac's 1996 album, 'Yaz Yağmuru' back in the late 90s. I have no idea who gave that to me/ how I got it, but I used to love the songs in it. I saw the Ankara address in the tape and assumed it was Turkish but knew nothing more about Ortac. Much as I know nothing about how I got it, I really do not know how I lost it either! Strange huh?
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Hands Up Johnny - Bandhan Kachche Dhaagon Ka (1983) <TC>
Composer: Hemant Bhosle
Inspired by Ottawan's 1981 track, 'Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart)
Listen to Hands Up Johnny | Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart)
So, Bappi Lahiri is not the only Bollywood composer to lift Ottawan (Jimmy Jimmy from Disco Dancer, 1982, was a lift from Ottawan's T'es OK, T'es Bath, 1980). Perhaps seeking inspiration from Bappi, another little known composer, Hemant Bhosle, lifted another Ottawan track (irony is that they're known only for 3 hit disco songs!), 'Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart)' that they released as a single in 1981. Hemant's version, called 'Hands Up Johnny', was sung by Asha Bhosle, Usha Uthap and Suresh Wadkar for the 1983 film, Bandhan Kachche Dhaagon Ka, starring Shashi Kapoor, Zeenat Aman and Raakhee. The Hindi version is quite corny; it uses every possible disco sound known to mankind back in 1983 for a really long, extended prelude and has Usha Uthup singing almost the same tune of Ottawan's original when the actual song starts. The video is even more corny - it has Kalpana Iyer, in 80s level minimal clothing, in a jungle camp set-up studio set and is better seen than explained any further. Quite campy and a must watch!
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Dilrubaon ke jalwe & Tu jo jaan le - Dulha Mil Gaya (2009) <TC>
Composer: Lalit Pandit
Dilrubaon ke jalwe is a lift from Pakistani singer Fakhr-e-alam's song, 'Husn waalon se poocho', while Tu jo jaan le is lifted off Malaysian pop singer Jay Jay's 'Cukuplah Sekali'.
Listen to Dilrubaon ke jalwe | Husn waalon se poocho
Listen to:
Tu jo jaan le:
Cukuplah Sekali:

Lalit Pandit, once part of Jatin Lalit, is back to his old ways again, without Jatin to share the dubious discredit. His latest soundtrack is for the forever-delayed, Shah Rukh Khan guest-starrer, Dulha Mil Gaya. One of the songs in the soundtrack, sung by Amit Kumar, in his Amitabh-mode, is 'Dilrubaon ke jalwe'. The song is an unabashed lift from Pakistani singer Fakhr-e-Alam's song, 'Husn waalon se poocho', that was part of his 2001 album, 'Falam Connection'. Its as blatant as it gets - the fast paced, qawali'ish track has literally been used as-is with no credit to Fakhr-e-Alam in the Dulha Mil Gaya CD. Fakhr-e-Alam has been talking about a possible Indian launch forever, if you do a search about the artist and I'm sure this kind of an entry isn't what he had in his mind.

Just when you thought Lalit Pandit (one of the Jatin-Lalit duo) was getting ready to breathe easy again after now-forgotten Pakistani singer Fakhr-e-Alam's plagiarism allegations, here he is, in big trouble again. For another lift, in the same film - Dulha Mil Gaya. The song is 'Tu Jo Jaan Le' sung brilliantly by Sonu Nigam. It is lifted off Malaysian singer Jay Jay's 80s song, 'Cukuplah Sekali'. Lalit Pandit, however, seems to have racked his brains to add something of his own to the lift and off he goes, adding the racy, 'Tu jo jaan le' portion that you wouldn't find in the original. But, for the rest of the song's mukhda, it is ditto...all the melodic twists and highs are maintained as-is. Now, if only Jay Jay and Fakhr-e-Alam joined hands and sued Lalit Pandit together...sigh! Thanks to Irfan Patel for the info on this lift.
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Mujhe teri - Paathshaala (2010) <TC>
Composer: Hanif Shaikh
Mujhe Teri:
Timro Tyo:

Mujhe Teri is sung by Tulsi Kumar, while there are 2 more names that adorn its credit - Akansha Lama and Hanif Shaikh. Now, Hanif Shaikh is the composer of this soundtrack and has done a good job. But, who is Akansha Lama and why doesn't she seem to be anywhere in the song? Another curious fact is that this is the only song in the soundtrack that has a co-composer credit...to someone named Vijay Lama. Who is he?

The truth is, this song is originally a Nepali song titled, 'Timro Tyo', composed by a Nepali pilot, Bijay Lama and sung by his daughter, Akansha Lama! Hanif Shaikh has got Tulsi Kumar to re-sing this song and has given co-composer credit to the original composer and also added a 'special thanks to' to some people including Akansha and Vijay. When you listen to both songs, they're almost exactly similar, but Hanif could claim that he has worked on some portions of it. So, co-composer is a fair term. But, if the idea was to legally credit the composer, it should ideally say, 'Based on an original composition, Timro Tyo, by Bijay Lama' - that is not the case here. What's worse is that the original singer, Akansha Lama is credited but it's Tulsi Kumar who hogs the track completely. So, if Bijay and Akshana had some idea to gain some recognition out of this Bollywood connection - forget it...nobody would even care or wonder.
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Title song - Marte Dam Tak (1987) <TC>
Composer: Ravindra Jain
Lifted from the Pakistani song, Chand Key Na Kar Sinay Wal.
Chhodenge na hum:
Chand Key Na Kar:

The 1987 Govinda, Rajkumar, Farha starrer, Marte Dam Tak was what legendary potboilers were made of. It strangely had music by a relatively milder man - Ravindra Jain. While the soundtrack had rare gems like 'Dheere dheere kholungi main', sung by Alisha Chinai and...brace yourself...Shakti Kapoor, the title song by Mohd Aziz and Anuradha Paudwal is quite famous. Unfortunately, Ravindra Jain seems to have sought a lot from a Pakistani (Seraiki, to be geographically right!) singer Attaullah Khan Esakhelvi's original track titled, 'Chand Key Na Kar Sinay Wal'. The original's year is known given how prolific Attaullah Khan was. The lift is direct and even Mohd Aziz seems to have made some effort to sound like the Pakistani singer!
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Munni Badnaam Hui (2010) <TC>
Composer: Lalit Pandit
Assorted sources.
Munni badnaam:
Launda badnaam (Rani Bala):

Bonus: Launda badnaam (Rock Dancer) Not connected, tune-wise.

Bonus #2: Another local version of the same original, composed by Yusuf Khan and sung by Hamid Chisti Jabalpuri and Tee Parveen. This is from a 2006 album called 'Hasina Hindustani'!

The first announcement is to clear poor Sajid Wajid's name - they did not get the credit for composing the latest national preoccupation - Munni badnaam hui, from Dabaang, that even Vidhu Vinod Chopra is humming the song around his house! The song is credited to Lalit Pandit...half of Jatin-Lalit. And yes, it is lifted. Rather a folk lift that is not appropriately credited...much like Ismal Darbar's Nimbuda from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. The source of this chartbuster seems to be a bawdy, folksy Bhojpuri number titled, 'Launda badnaam hua naseeban tere liye', sung by Rani Bala. The music of this folk track is credited to Ghulam Dastgeer Khan and the album titled, 'Balma Bada Bavaali' stars Rampat Harami and Rani Bala, at least per this site, where the song is streamed. The same lyrics were used by Bappi Lahiri in an altered version in Rock Dancer, for the Javed Jaffrey featuring song, 'Launda badnaam hua laundiya tere liye'. Lalit's Munni is closer to the source in terms of tune, even though it has been supremely spruced up and very modern oomph. It'd have been extremely graceful and honest of Lalit to have credited the folk source for his Munni, but with so many spectacular lifts to their name (as Jatin Lalit) that is one heck of an impossible ask!

Looks like even the local, Bhojpuri version I referred to earlier seems to have been flicked off this Pakistani original, at least going by the release dates. The Bhojpuri number came out in 1998, while the Pakistani film in which the original is featured, Mr. Charlie, came out in 1992. The news is now out in Mumbai Mirror today, but what it fails to inform is the composers of the original track. The song was not composed by Pakistani comedian Umer Sharif himself - it was merely picturised on him since he's the film's hero. The song's composers were Kamal Ahmed and M Arshad, while Umer wrote the lyrics.

But one critical question: Considering the popularity of Indian (Hindi) films in Pakistan and also taking into fact that Dabangg is a hugely successful film (Munni.. itself being a massively popular song), what was Umar Sherif doing all this while, till Mumbai Mirror called and pointed the similarity to him? Hasn't he heard Munni so far, on his own? Or, doesn't he remember his own song?
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Thodi der ke liye - Film: Akeli Mat Jayyo (1963) <TC>
Composer: Madan Mohan
From Hernando's Hideaway by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross.
Thodi der ke liye:
Hernando's Hideaway:

One of my favorite composers, Madan Mohan, thankfully has rather limited entries in ItwoFS. I feel terrible in adding one to that limited list, but duty beckons...what to do? The Madan Mohan song in question is the 1963 number, Thodi der ke liye mere ho jao, from the film Akeli Mat Jaiyo. The song was sung by Asha Bhosle and featured killer cabaret type moves from Minoo Mumtaz, who, incidentally, did you know, was Mehmood's sister? The tune of the song was highly inspired, to the extent of calling it a copy, from 'Hernando's Hideaway', a well known show tune from the musical, The Pajama Game, that was written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. It first came out in 1954, but one of it's most famous versions was by Archie Bleyer, in the same year. There are many other recordings/versions of this song down the years.
99
Barf khushi hai - Film: Ek Ajnabee (2005) <TC>
Composer: Amar Mohile
From Cuban singer Carlos Varela's 'Una Palabra'.
Barf khushi hai:
Una palabra:

When Apoorva Lakhia lifts, he lifts lock, stock and barrel, it seems. While he was unabashedly open about his 2005 film, Ek Ajnabee, being lifted from Tony Scott's 2004 Denzel Washinton film, Man on fire, he seemed to have used more than the film's script or scenes. So, as if those lifts were not enough, he also uses a song from the film's soundtrack - Cuban singer Carlos Varela's 'Una Palabra'. He has got composer Amar Mohile to recreate the song with some Hindi'ish changes, as 'Barf khushi hai', sung by Kailash Kher. Lovely original song and reasonably interesting adaptation too - just that, it lacks proper credit.
100
My Name Is Sheila (Tees Maar Khan)
When I got this lead from Vaibhav Vishal, I was indeed skeptical. After all, how can it be that obvious - a song called 'Sweet Little Sheila' being the source of India's new chartbuster item song seemed too convenient. So, I tried a little experiment - I have done this earlier on Twitter, but given how curiously obvious this one seemed, I posted it in Milliblog, with no mention whatsoever but just a question, 'What do you think?'. It evoked a lot of interesting responses - many were stunned; some, like Sonnenlicht, questioned my tactic of posting it there to gauge responses (rightfully so, since it was a first, if you ignore my similar attempts on Twitter), while Vishal himself had some observations to make as well.

I have read all that there is to read. Here's what I think.

First, this is not a tune lift, in my opinion. And, if the Modern Talking song had any other lady's name apart from Sheila, I wouldn't even have given it another chance - but, there are 2 levels of similarities here. One, the stunningly obvious name - 'Sheila'. And second, the brief, but definite similarity between part of the hook - 'Her name is Sheila' and 'My name is Sheila'. Of course, the fact that the rest of the 2 songs are vastly different should also be taken into consideration, but 2 such large instances of connection are more than adequate to warrant an entry in ItwoFS, in my opinion - not in the coincidences or trivia section, but in the main composer's section. Modern Talking's song, 'Sweet Little Sheila' seems to have nothing to do, tune-wise, with Tommy Roe's 1962 hit single of the same title and features in their 1986 album, 'In the Middle of Nowhere'.

That said, Sonnenlicht, in his scathing indictment of my asking other's opinion (in this case) also posed a valid question - would I consider seeking opinions from other composers as well, before adding their songs on ItwoFS. Good point - my only answer is that Vishal chose to respond. Many other newer composers are online and if they did not choose to connect with me (my email ID is right there on top - visibly; there is a reason why I've made and maintained this site as a website, with no commenting, and not like a blog), so be it. So, in short, no, I do not intend to seek opinions before sharing my opinion on ItwoFS - not in this case (it was intended to gauge Milliblog and ItwoFS readers' opinions) and not in any other case. If composers choose to respond, I'd more than gladly amplify it and connect it to the song in question. Like in this case - do read Vishal Dadlani's response, here.
Listen to
My name of Sheila:
Sweet Little Sheila:
101
Teri Meri (Bodyguard, 2011 - Himesh Reshammiya)
The original is called 'La Betleem colo-n jos' and is massively popular as a Romanian Chritmas carol with origins in the 15th century. Just one search on YouTube will land you tons of variants and the most popular, recent version seems to be by the world's "youngest person ever to score commercial success as a singer" at the age of 3 (!!!) - Cleopatra Stratan. Her 2009 album 'Crăciun Magic' (Magic Christmas) includes a variant of this song too! I've included 2 versions of the original for comparison - one performed by Corala Armonia in Toronto and another, an uncredited solo off YouTube.

Technically, a 15th century song may not need any specific crediting and could ideally called as being in the 'public domain' for anyone to adapt. I completely buy that logic, but I have always believed that plagiarism is a question of intent, and less a point about royalty. The intent is what comes through when a composer does not (choose to) credit his source - it seems like he wants to pass it off as his own composition, as against being brave enough to credit his source and let people appreciate his inventive adaptation.

Update: It looks like Himesh could share discredit for this lift along with none other than Salman Khan.

Listen to
Teri Meri:
La Betleem colo-n jos (Corala Armonio):
La Betleem colo-n jos:
102
Jalwanuma (Ghost, 2011 - Sharib-Toshi)
Composing duo Sharib-Toshi have a fairly unblemished record so far, in their limited run in Bollywood. So, it comes across as a surprise that their new catchy song from Ghost, 'Jalwanuma' seems massively influenced from a song by Amr Diab, that Middle eastern God of Indian film music! Yes, Jalwanuma contains a lot of references to Diab's 'Khalik Maaya' from his 2007 album 'El Leila De'. The main hook in Hindi seems to be inspired by the main instrumental hook in the original while the rest of the tune seems to use a flow similar (but with Hindi'ish variations) to Diab's song.

Listen to
Jalwanuma:
Khalik Maaya:
103
Yeh jism (Jism 2, 2012 - Arko Pravo Mukherjee)
So, the title song, 'Yeh jism' was part of the trailer and the credit for the song went to a composer named Arko Pravo Mukherjee. Mahesh Bhatt introduced Arko with, 'enchants us with his outstanding tunes'.

The only niggling issue is that the song credited to Arko in the trailer belongs to Turkish pop singer (yes, another Turkish singer after Tarkan hits India via the plagiarism route - good for world music, no?) Kayahan. The original is called 'Bizimkisi bir aşk hikayesi' and this song was part of Kayahan's 2003 album 'Ne Oldu Can' (What happened, my life).

The song itself has a standard Latino tune, oversung by Ali Azmat in the Hindi version, much like Kahayan's original. Arko smoothens parts of the song to make it seem well-rounded and adds the trademark lone, melancholic Bhatt-violin that all Bhatt-composers are usually (perhaps) forced to add as a Bhattouch. But it largely stays true to Kahayan's original - so much that the net is abuzz with the lift in just a day though I heard about it first from a message on Milliblog's Facebook page by Yumlembam Roshan.


Listen to
Yeh Jism:
Bizimkisi Bir:
104
Deewana kar raha hai (Raaz 3, 2012 - Rashid Khan)
Raaz 3's 'Deewana kar raha hai' is not composed by the main composer of the soundtrack, Jeet Ganguly. Instead, this song is created to Rashid Khan. It could well be credited to Egyptian singer Mohamed Hamaki since his song, 'Ana Lao Azeto' forms the base for the Hindi song. The original is from Mohamed Hamaki's album titled Naweeha (2008).

As usual, there are minor changes in Hindi, but the original can be identified very easily. Rashid uses pauses very effectively to break the first 3 lines of the original into almost 6 smaller portions, while the way he extends the word 'Sunehra' by focusing on 'neh' is a catchy deviation from the original. Alas... all these don't make the Hindi version original - just listen to them both back-to-back and marvel at the Bhatt ingenuity!

Listen to
Deewana kar raha hai:
Ana Lao Azeto:
105
Love ki ghanti (Besharam, 2013 - Lalit Pandit)
the most recognizable part of the song - Love Ki Ghanti - is lifted off the Italian song Bella Ciao!

The original is a legendary Italian revolutionary song named Bella Ciao. Interestingly, the original composer of Bella Ciao remains unknown, though recently, Bella Ciao's roots have been traced to a Jewish song titled 'Koilen' that was first recorded by Mishka Ziganoff in 1919.


Listen to
Love ki ghanti:
Bella Ciao (original):
Koilen:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Hindi

Anu Malik
Anand Milind
Anand Raaj Anand
Bappi Lahiri
Jatin Lalit
Kalyanji Anandji
Laxmikant Pyarelal
Nadeem Shravan
OP Nayyar
Pritam Chakravarty
Rajesh Roshan
RD Burman
Salil Chaudhry
SD Burman
Sandeep Chowta
Sanjeev Darshan
Shankar Jaikishen
Hindi - others


Tamil
A R Rahman
Deva
Ilayaraja
Karthikraja
Yuvan S. Raja
Tamil - others


Assorted
Coincidences
Indipop
Advt. jingle lifts
Telugu
Trivia
 

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