Amaal Mallik vs Tanishk Bagchi: Bollywood’s Latest Music Row Explained

Bollywood’s music industry is no stranger to plagiarism debates, but this one has turned unusually personal. Composer Amaal Mallik has publicly accused fellow composer Tanishk Bagchi of copying the Saiyaara title track, reigniting an old controversy with a fresh, fiery round of allegations.

What Sparked the Row

Mallik alleged that Bagchi lifted the composition for Saiyaara from an earlier song, Humnawa Mere, and claimed credit that should have gone to the original creators, Faheem Abdullah and Arsalan Nizami. He further suggested that singer Jubin Nautiyal, who was part of the same film, chose to stay silent out of professional courtesy. Mallik didn’t stop there — he accused Bagchi of relying on AI-generated vocals while presenting them as authentic, and took aim at the timing of Bagchi’s new release, Madhosh, which dropped the same day as the Awarapan 2 track Yeh Awarapan, calling it a deliberate attempt to ride on his hype.

The exchange grew sharper as Mallik brought up past controversies, including questions over royalty payments tied to Saiyaara and a previous claim regarding non-payment from YRF, which the studio had already addressed with an official clarification. Bagchi, for his part, kept his response measured, acknowledging Mallik’s frustration and expressing hope that he would soon refocus on his music.

Amaal Mallik vs Tanishk Bagchi

For background on how music plagiarism disputes are typically assessed in the industry, see this authoritative explainer on music plagiarism on Wikipedia.

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Why This Controversy Matters

Beyond the personal jabs, this spat touches a nerve that runs deep in the Indian music industry — credit disputes, royalty transparency, and the growing unease around AI-assisted vocals. Whether or not the allegations hold up, the conversation around originality and fair credit isn’t going away anytime soon.

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