Pakistani singer to take legal action against Karan Johar, T-Series over Nach Punjaban: ‘Stop stealing our songs'

Pakistani singer Abrar-ul-Haq alleges the Punjaabban song in Karan Johar's JugJugg Jeeyo copies his song Nach Punjaban.

Pakistani singer Abrar-ul-Haq said he will take legal action against Karan Johar and T-series for using his song in the upcoming movie JugJugg Jeeyo. Taking to Instagram and Twitter on Saturday, he said he had not sold his song to anyone. “Stop stealing our songs,” he tweeted along with a video, where he said giving someone a line of credit in a YouTube video isn’t enough to make up for taking their work. JugJugg Jeeyo stars Varun Dhawan, Kiara Advani, Anil Kapoor, and Neetu Kapoor, and is set to release on June 24.

JugJugg Jeeyo’s Punjaabban song features actors Kiara Advani and Varun Dhawan, among others.

In the video posted on Saturday, Abrar-ul-Haq said, “A lot of fans have been asking me ‘why haven’t you gone to the court against Karan Johar and T-Series for stealing your song Nach Punjaban. The answer is yes. I’m going to the court, don’t worry. Merely saying that the credit has been given because the song is well-written and would make their movie a hit. I never gave you the song, I never gave anybody the rights to my song. It belongs to me, so I’ll get it back and I’m coming to the court, see you there.”

He also tagged Karan Johar, and the record label, T-Series, in his social media posts, which he shared with the hashtag #StopStealingOurSongs.

However, T-Series later released a statement to refute the singer’s claims, saying, “We have legally acquired the rights to adapt the song Nach Punjaban from the album Nach Punjaban released on iTunes on 1st January 2002 and is also available on Lollywood Classics’ YouTube channel, owned and operated by Moviebox Records Label, for the film JugJugg Jeeyo produced by Dharma Productions.”

In a following tweet, the Pakistani singer clarified that his song hasn't been "licensed" to anyone, and if anyone tries to claim it, they must produce an agreement to back up their claims. In his tweet, Abrar-ul-Haq repeated his threat of taking legal action against Karan.

Abrar-ul-Haq also tweeted about the song on May 22.

Moreover, on May 27 actor Varan Dhawan also weighed in on the issues surrounding the dance number. “T-series has put out an official statement about this they legally licensed the rights. I think when you have international companies like YouTube and Spotify… When they are playing music they have very strict laws about copyrights. It’s no joke. All the processes have been followed,” he said at a press event, while promoting JugJugg Jeeyo.

JugJugg Jeeyo is directed by Raj Mehta and is a joint production between Johar's Dharma Productions and Viacom18 Studios. The Punjaabban song in the film allegedly uses the same tune of the song Nach Punjaban by Abrar-ul-Haq.