‘Imaginary similarities’

Pritam dismisses plagiarism allegations over Cocktail 2 song, calls critics his ‘unpaid PR team’

Music composer Pritam has refuted allegations of plagiarism surrounding Mashooqa, a song from the upcoming film Cocktail 2, after social media users claimed its tune was lifted from a 1993 Italian track.

The controversy erupted after a Reddit user shared a comparison video placing Mashooqa alongside Se So Arrubate A Nonna, a Neapolitan song by Italian duo Bibi and Coco from their 1993 album Le Origini Vol. 2. Many users claimed the two tunes sounded nearly identical.

Pritam responded to the criticism through a post on his Instagram Stories, calling the critics his “unpaid PR team”.

“Every single one of my song releases comes with a set of self-appointed music detectives, who have created a new genre called ‘imaginary similarities’. Same people, same ‘inspired by’ thesis. Boss, at this point, you are my unpaid PR team. I just want to say, guys, NOT NICE,” he wrote.

The online debate also led several users to revisit older plagiarism allegations against the composer. Mashooqa has been composed by Pritam with lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya. The song is sung by Raghav Chaitanya and Mahmood Ruaa Kayy, while the Italian portions were written and performed by singer Mahmood.

Cocktail 2 stars Shahid Kapoor, Kriti Sanon and Rashmika Mandanna. The film is directed by Homi Adajania and produced by Maddock Films and Luv Films. It is scheduled to release on June 19.