Badshah and Jacqueline Fernandes’ Genda Phool said to be plagiarised, original writer can’t afford to sue rapper

Lyrics credited to ‘Bengali folk’ in rapper Badshah’s new song Genda Phool are reportedly written by Ratan Kahar, who can’t afford to sue Badshah for plagiarism.

Rapper Badshah’s new song, Genda Phool, has been caught in a plagiarism row. The song, which also features actor Jacqueline Fernandes, is said to have borrowed lyrics from an old Bengali song, without purchasing proper rights.

The line “Borlok er Bitilo, lomba lomba chul.....lal genda phool,” is taken from the song Borloker Bitilo, written by Ratan Kahar in the 1970s. The music video simply credits the lyrics to ‘Bengali Folk’, according to News18.com.

A Twitter user posted that Kahar can’t afford to sue the makers of the new song. Sharing his picture he wrote, “This is RATAN KAHAR, a folk artist from Bengal. GENDA PHOOL is RATAN KAHAR’s song from the 70s & is extremely popular amongst Bengalis. Sadly he doesn’t have the money to sue Badshah who claims that the lyrics/music is by him. But you have the power to spread the truth. Use it.”

 

Kahar in a documentary had said that the song has been remixed multiple times in the past, and he hasn’t been credited.

According to Pinkvilla, a doctoral researcher in France has written to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee about the matter. “In the capacity of a common but responsible citizen of your state, Madam Chief Minister, I feel obliged and responsible to bring to your notice an exploitation of the poor artists of the state of West Bengal at this level by apparently world renowned artists. It is, indeed, the moral responsibility of the entire population of the state, and more so, the government of the state to protect the interests of the artistic communities of our country,” the letter reads. “Your government has always shown sensitivity, empathy and appreciativeness to the rich intellectual and cultural diversity of Bengal, which has been one of the many foundations of the popularity of your government. I write this mail to you hoping that you will be able to act in favour of Mr. Kahar in this regard, and obtain for him the intellectual and material remuneration that is due to him.”

The song, released by Sony Music India, has over 60 million hits on YouTube so far.