MUMBAI: Kanika Kapoor tugs at our heartstrings with her latest love rendition ‘Buhe Bariyan’. It narrates the tale of uniting with one’s beloved. But Kanika faced a plagiarism row after Pakistani singer Hadiqa Kiani accused her of stealing her song, claiming that it was her original creation, with poetry written by her mother.

Now, Kanika has come forward to share her side of the story, stressing that it is an original composition.

“Anyone who goes and listens to the song will know that it is an original song, from antras to everything. We have just used the hook line of an old folk song. According to me and the label, it is a folk song,” she said.

She continues, “There are many versions of the song that we have heard online, and nobody has ever said anything about it”.

It all started when Hadiqa stated, “I own all rights to Boohey Barian and all songs on my album Roshni. My mother wrote the poetry”, going on to call it a “shameless rendition” and “easy money making scheme”. She even vowed to go legal with the fight.

Kanika says her song is “completely original”, adding, “We have not copy-pasted any old folk song. We used two lines as inspiration. It is very unfair to the writer Kunwar Juneja and Shruti Rane who composed this new song. Also, it is unfair to me if anybody says that I am trying to steal someone’s work”.

Ever since the claims surfaced, she has been getting hate messages and threats, and she is upset about how things have turned out to be nasty.

“It makes me sad that they think we stole their song, or are not giving them the right credit. But I think, instead of going negative, we have to come together and help each other to grow. I have nothing against anyone who is saying anything negative or nasty. I have received a lot of nasty messages. It is sad to see people jump to conclusions without really knowing something,” says the singer, popular for songs such as Jugni Ji, Baby Doll, Kamlee, Chittiyaan Kalaiyaan and Beat Pe Booty.

When it comes to the copyright of the folk number, she asserts that she is not a legal person and has no way of finding out who owns the song. However, she extends her apology if the song hurt anyone in any way.

Kanika began her Bollywood playback singing career with the song "Baby Doll" for the film Ragini MMS 2. She subsequently earned widespread recognition and success for singing "Lovely" and "Kamlee" for the film Happy New Year (2014), "Chittiyaan Kalaiyaan" for the film Roy (2015), "Desi Look" for the film Ek Paheli Leela (2015), "Nachan Farrate" for the film All Is Well (2015), "Jugni Peeke Tight Hai" for the film Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon (2015), and many more.

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Credits: Hindustan Times