Udit Narayan's Odia song is copied from my song: Assamese singer Zubeen Garg

Noted Assamese singer Zubeen Garg is planning legal action against the music director and producer of Odia film Tapori for allegedly copying a song composed by him in their film.

The tune of the song in question ‘Pakhi Pakhi’, sung by well-known Bollywood playback singer Udit Narayan, is almost similar to Zubeen’s popular Assamese number ‘Pakhi Pakhi Ei Mon’, released 15 years ago.

“This song recently sung by Udit Narayanji is a total copy of my song ‘Pakhi Pakhi Ei Mon’, which I wrote/composed and sung 15 years ago,” Zubeen stated on his Facebook page on Thursday.

Here is the Odia song, rendered by Udit Narayan.

And the one by Zubeen Garg.

“As an artist, I won’t tolerate this, and I hereby declare that I am going to take legal action against this,” he said.

Clarifying that he had nothing against Udit Narayan, Zubeen said he was talking about the music director Asad Nizam and producer Adikanda Sahu of the Odia film directed by Biswajit Panda.

Tapori director Biswajit Panda however said he has no role in music composition. “The producer and music composer can say why that tune was selected. I was just asked to direct the movie,” said Panda.

Nizam and Sahu were not immediately available for comment.

This isn’t this first time Zubeen’s songs have been copied. The singer, who hit the national headlines with his Hindi number ‘Ya Ali’ in 2006, said two other songs of his were copied in Odia—the title song of film Anjali and ‘Chagala Chagala’ from Mu Diwana To Pain.

“This has been happening for some years now. I have nothing against Udit Narayan. If they (the filmmakers/music composers) had asked me I would have given them permission to use my songs with the condition of giving me credit,” he told journalists in Silchar on Thursday.

Music director Goodly Rath, who composed music for Anjali in 2010, said he knew that it was Zubeen’s song. “But it was a call taken by the director of the movie Biswabhushan Mohapatra, who knows Zubeen. The decision for that song entirely rests with the director and producer of the movie. We have no freedom in this,” Rath said.

Zubeen, whose first album ‘Anamika’ was released in 1992, has sung thousands of songs in Assamese, Hindi and many other Indian languages. He also writes songs, composes music and acts.

His next film ‘Mission China’, which he has written, directed and acted in, will release this year.