Pakistani songs you didn’t know were plagiarised by Bollywood

Bollywood songs are quite popular across the globe but did you know that many Indian film songs are actually plagiarised versions of songs that were composed by Pakistani musicians.

From O.P. Nayyar to Laxmikant-Pyarelal, R. D. Nurman to Rajesh Roshan, Nadeem-Shravan to Bappi Lahiri  and Anu Malik to Pritam, Indian music composers with great songs to their credit have taken some serious inspirations when it came to producing “original” music.

It has always been easy for an Indian music director to plagiarise content without even bothering to change the lyrics or music. The trend of using Pakistani songs as their own started in the 1980s and even today, it seems many Indian composers’ first stop while creating a song is searching for a Pakistani song, instead of their own creativity.

Here is a countdown consisting of some of the most popular Pakistani songs which were plagiarised by Bollywood.

Munni Badnaam Hui

The famous item number Munni Badnaam Hui from Dabangg is a blatant rip-off from Umer Sharif’s movie Mr. Charlie that was released in 1992. The Pakistani version was a qawwali called “Larka Badnaam Hua” and was sung by Umer Sharif himself.

Tumhe Apna Bananey ki Kasam

Tumhe Apna Bananey ki Kasam from Mahesh Bhat’s Sadak is a copied version of a Pakistani song Chale Toh Kat Hi Jaega Safar by Mussarrat Nazir.

Lambi Judai

The hit Indian version appeared in Emraan Hashmi’s 2008 film Jannat… turned out to be heavily inspired by folk singer Reshman’s original song.

Main Na Jhoot Bolun

This song from the 1991 Amitabh-starrer Indrajeet may not be familiar to most, but we are sure that very few will be able to miss the unmistakeable beat in the background. Created in the 1980s, this is the music that is characteristic of every PPP election campaign and rally.

Hawa Hawa

Hawa Hawa was originally sung by Pakistani singer Hassan Jehangir in 1987. It has been the most copied song in India and has been recreated in Bollywood on six occasions, most recently in Mubarakan starring Arjun Kapoor and Illeana D’Cruz.

Dil Dil Hindustan

Not many of you know that our very own Dil Dil Pakistan has another version called Dil Dil Hindustan? The popular Vital Signs’ song was blatantly copied across the border in “Yaadon ke Mausam” released in 1990.

Mera Piya Ghar Aya

Everyone remembers Madhuri’s dance steps in Yaarana’s Mera Piya Ghar Aya but it was not an original song as believed by many. The Kavita Krishnamurthy number was a plagiarised version of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s qawwali that became a rage when it was released in the 1990s.

Tu Cheez Bari Hai Mast

The chemistry between Akshay Kumar and Raveena Tandon set the screen on fire in this song from 1994 blockbuster Mohra. The original version Dam Mast Qalander was sung by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and was itself an inspired version of the Qawwali Dama Dum Mast Qalandar that was already made famous by the Sabri Brothers..

Zalima Coca Cola

Zalima Coca Cola is also a plagirised track for the film Bhuj; The Pride of India. The song features Nora Fatehi who is seen flaunting her belly dancing skills. The song has been sung by Shreya Ghoshal and the music has been given by Tanishk Bagchi. The original version was sung by Madam Noor Jehan in 1986 for a Punjabi film Chan Te Soorma.

Acha Sila Dia Tu Ne

Indian music composers didn’t even leave folk singer Ataullah Khan Essa khelvi alone and copied his famous numbers Acha Sila Dia and Ishq Main Hum in a film titled Sanam Bewafa in the mid 90s. The film bombed badly at the box office but the two songs became quite popular in India.

Kadi te Has Bol

The words Kadi te Has Bol can be heard in the soundtrack of the song Aahun Aahun from the 2009 film Love Aaj Kal. The Pakistani original was sung by legendary folk singer Shaukat Ali and Atif Aslam recently paid tribute to both the singer and the song in Velo Sound Station..

Billo Te Ghar

It might come to you as a shock, but even Abrar ul Haq’s superhit number Billo Te Ghar was used in an Indian film, and was picturised on none other than Sunny Deol, who lovs to play anti-Pakistan characters. His Mera Dil Le Gayi version was panned everywhere, be it in India or Pakistan, while Billo still rulkes!

It was during the 1980s that Indian music composers sort of ‘discovered’ Pakistani songs, and tried to copy the famous ones shamelessly. The Ikhlaq Ahmed song ‘Kabhi Khwahishon Ne Loota’ from Meherbani was ripped off in Rajesh Khanna’s Alag Alag, and the trend continued with more such attempts. Hadiqa Kiani’s Boohay Baariyan might be a folk song but it has been copied twice in a film, and most recently in a music video across the border. Madam Noor Jehan’s Woh Mera Ho Na Saka from Azmat became Dil Mera Tod Dia Us Ne in Kasoor, and Tasawwar Khanum’s Tu meri Zindagi Hai was copied in Mahesh Bhatt’s Aashiqui. The list continues with Abrar ul Haq’s ‘Bheega Bheega Sa Yeh December Hai’ that was copied for the Emraan Hashmi starrer ‘Chocolate’ while Ali Zafar’s ‘Channo’ was copied for the film ‘Fight Club’. The plagiarism didn’t end here as Ikhlaq Ahmed’s Sona Na Chandi from Bandish was used in Aik Larka Aik Ladki as Choti Si Duniya, and in ‘Aashiq Banaya Aapne’, Himesh Reshammiya copied Fakhir Mehmood’s song ‘Marjawan’ that was filmed on Emraan Hashmi.