Indian Producer Admits ‘Aashiqui’ Songs Were Copied from Pakistani Tracks

Lalit Pandit, one-half of the famous composer duo Jatin-Lalit, has accused Nadeem-Shravan of plagiarizing Pakistani tracks for the iconic 1990 film ‘Aashiqui’. Directed by Mahesh Bhatt, this romantic drama is renowned for its memorable soundtrack, which played a crucial role in cementing Nadeem-Shravan’s reputation in Bollywood.

In an interview with Bollywood Hungama, Lalit Pandit revealed that these beloved songs were not entirely original compositions. He stated, “Honestly, Nadeem-Shravan’s music was not of our style. Most of the songs they did at that time were… Nadeem would go to Dubai, buy a lot of Pakistani cassettes, and reproduce them here. The entire industry knows this.”

He added, “Aashiqui songs are actually Pakistani tracks, with words retained. Many of the songs! The music of a composer should reflect their style. If you listen to ours, you’d instantly know it is Jatin-Lalit music because everything was done by us.”

When questioned about whether Jatin-Lalit ever took inspiration from other global music, Lalit admitted, “Inspiration is a must, even we have been inspired. But that involves a different way of working. Jatin was a truly original composer, he would get inspired by other track, but he would never completely lift a song. In fact, I was the one who would take some bits from English songs that I had heard. So I would mix bits and pieces, and only I would know what I had done. But Jatin was a pure composer.”

The original Aashiqui, starring Rahul Roy and Annu Agarwal, catapulted both actors to overnight fame. The franchise continued to thrive with Aashiqui 2, featuring Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor, which also achieved significant success. Recently, talks emerged about Aashiqui 3, starring Triptii Dimri and Kartik Aaryan. However, the project has reportedly faced legal issues.

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