Badshah reacts to the ‘Masakali’ controversy, dismisses plagiarism and objectification accusations against his reprised version of ‘Genda Phool’, featuring Jacqueline Fernandez
Ankita Chaurasia (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 11, 2020)

With 148 million views in just two weeks, Badshah’s latest music video, “Genda Phool”, featuring Jacqueline Fernandez, is already on top of the charts. Speaking from his home in Chandigarh, the singer-composer gushes about Kolkata and the Bengali culture. “I had a look in mind for Jacqueline, which she had never tried before,” he points out, the satisfaction apparent in his voice.

Point out that some detractors found the actress “too sensuous without reason” and he counters it, “There are more sensuous music videos online. And with Jacqueline, we would want it to be sensuous.” The rapper goes on to say that young girls are recreating Jackie’s look. “TikTok numbers have already crossed 500 million. People are celebrating it,” he adds proudly.

But what about the lyrics, which tread the thin line between praise and objectification? The singer-composer argues that even a metaphorical line like ‘Yeh Chand Sa Roshan Chehra’ can be seen as objectification, as “moon itself is an object”. “I’m not saying I’m a poet, but comparison is a tool to make your language ornamental and that’s why I use similes and metaphors,” Badshah reasons, unfazed by the criticism. “Earlier, when there was no social media, feedback was delayed. Now, everyone has an opinion. As an artiste, I respect that but I don’t have to heed everything,” he asserts.

Immediately after the release of “Genda Phool”, the musician was accused of not giving credit to original lyricist Ratan Kahar for the Bengali lines, “Bodo Loker Beti Lo”, used in the song. Badshah reveals that the song had been with him since the last five years as a dotara sample. When he decided to use it, both the music label and he exercised due diligence during research. “If it was a case of plagiarism, we would be facing the consequences by now. The original song has been recreated several times in the past, even in Bengali films, and Ratan ji has never been credited. It’s sad because royalties are an artiste’s only source of income. I want to share the royalty of this song with him,” informs the singer-composer who, moved after a phone call with the folk artiste, has wired him Rs 5 lakh and, with the music company, plans to educate and encourage folk artistes to register their work. “In the whole confusion we discovered Ratanji’s talent. Once the lockdown ends, I’ll meet him and record a song with him,” he promises.

Talking of credit, after Tanishk Bagchi’s reprised version of “Masakali” released—the music video features Bollywood actors Sidharth Malhotra and Tara Sutaria—the original’s composer A R Rahman appealed to the audience to listen to his song from Delhi-6 since it was made with “no short cuts, properly commissioned, sleepless nights, writes and rewrites by over 200 musicians over 365 days of creative brainstorming with the aim to produce music that can last generations”. The film’s director, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, added, “Beware of the remix, it will damage your eardrums.”

As someone who has been on both ends of the spectrum—reprising songs and having his songs reworked—Badshah says it all boils down to audience reaction. “Comparisons are inevitable. I loved the ‘Aankh Marey’ remix more than the original. My 2015 song, ‘Wakhra Swag’, was recently remixed for a film without my knowledge. It worked but I’m still asked to play my version wherever I go,” he chuckles, pointing out that he worked on the only remake A R Rahman agreed to. “We were at an event and he called me from the other end of the room, to say that he really liked my remixed version of ‘Humma Humma’.” Now, that was a compliment.

He is now working on Badshah 2.0. The idea is to reinvent his songs and take Indian music to the global platform.

MID-DAY (April 2, 2020)

After being deluged with plagiarism charges by netizens over his latest track Genda phool, rapper Badshah has defended himself saying he has been trying to reach out to the creator of the original track, but to no avail. Badshah's new song mixes rap with lyrics from an old Bengali folk hit, Boroloker biti lo, created by Ratan Kahar, and originally sung by Swapna Chakraborty. Clarifying his situation on social media, the rapper claimed that he has been trying to contact Kahar, but has not managed to do so owing to the ongoing nationwide lockdown.

"After receiving so much information from the Bengali community, I have been constantly trying my best to reach out to him, [so that I can] do justice [given] the situation. However, the Coronavirus lockdown has [been a hindrance]. It has been difficult to get through to the village that shri Kahar is in; I am still trying," Badshah tweeted.

The rapper has also requested anyone who might have any knowledge of how to contact Kahar, to help him get connected. "I urge and request any of the representatives who have been speaking on his behalf, to help me connect with him so I can do whatever is possible on my part, on humanitarian grounds, to set things right." He further stated: "A couple of days after the song's release, I started getting feedback on my social media that the Bengali lyrics are originally from a song called Boroloker beti lo, that were penned by the veteran artist Shri Ratan Kahar."

Claiming the original creator of the 1972 song has not been given due credit in any of the previous versions, Badshah further wrote: "We had done our due diligence before releasing the song, and nowhere on any copyright societies or on any of the previous reprises/versions of the song was Mr Ratan Kahar credited as a lyricist. Information all across say that Boroloker beti lo is a traditional/folk song from the Bauls of Bengal. Just for general information, traditional songs are open for recreations/reprises/sampling globally."

On Instagram, the rapper said he has always tried to include cultural elements in his commercial tracks to draw attention to the former. "I have always believed that there is nothing more vibrant and beautiful than our Indian culture, music and language. Despite being a commercial artiste, I always try to include [such] elements in my music, and present it to the world."

Meanwhile, veteran folk artist Kahar reportedly lives amid poverty in West Bengal. He reportedly told a publication that he would, at the very least, like to be recognised for his work.

While the rapper claims that he ‘sampled’ the folk song, other musicians disagree
Debarati. Sen (BOMBAY TIMES; April 1, 2020)

Rapper Badshah finds himself in the eye of a storm over his latest single, Genda Phool, a duet with Payal Dev, which he released earlier this week. Music lovers have slammed him for not giving credit to folk singer Ratan Kahar, who had originally sung and written the 48-year-old Bengali song, Boro Loker Beti Lo, which has inspired the new single.

The track became popular when it was adapted and rendered by well-known lokgeeti (Bengali folk music) singer, Swapna Chakraborty, in the 70s.

Last evening, Badshah went live on Instagram to give his side of the story about the song picturised on Jacqueline Fernandez and him. He said, “I was aware that it is a Bengali folk song. I had checked YouTube and found that the song had been recreated many times earlier, but Ratan Kahar’s name was not mentioned anywhere. As an artiste, I just wanted to sample this beautiful piece of music in a song and make the world listen to it. Aaj hum iss mukaam par hain ki log hamare gaane sunte hain. I want people to reach out to Ratan Kahar and tell him that I would love to help him.” Talking to BT, Badshah had said that the song is not a remix of the Bengali folk song.

Speaking about the controversy, musicians Jeet Gannguli and Palash Sen both agreed that using the song the way Badshah has, can't be called sampling.

Jeet stated, "When someone uses another composer's tune to a large extent, it cannot be called sampling. Credit should be given where it is due."

Palash, meanwhile, reminded, "When a verse from the song Kaliyon Ka Chaman, was used by an American rapper, Bappi Lahiri sued him and reportedly won the case."

I DESERVE TO GET RECOGNITION AND RESPECT FOR MY WORK: RATAN KAHAR
While speaking to BT, folk artiste Ratan Kahar, who lives in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, said, “I wrote this song in 1972. Swapna Chakraborty sang it in 1976 and it became famous. But even then, I did not get credit for it. I have heard the latest version (Badshah’s song). I don’t know him and haven’t heard of him, but he has used my song without taking my permission for it. I am an artiste and I deserve to get respect and recognition for my work. Besides, he has twisted the song so badly, how can people, who love Bengali music and culture, allow this?”