Pritam slams plagiarism claims over Kriti Sanon-Shahid Kapoor's Mashooqa; fans still call it 'bad song'

Cocktail 2, starring Kriti Sanon, Rashmika Mandanna and Shahid Kapoor, is leaving no stone unturned to promote their upcoming film and has gone all out on social media and interacting with paps to promote their song.

On Sunday night, two songs from the film were dropped on Instagram, one being Kriti Sanon-Shahid Kapoor starrer 'Mashooqa,' which shows hot and steamy chemistry between the two stars. In the song, Kriti is seen swaying in beachwear, giving scintillating moves and getting cosy on the beach with Shahid Kapoor,  moves, grooves, swag and chemistry that can't be made in any lab. The song was received well on social media, with fans loving the vibe and energy.

However, their happiness was short-lived as Shahid Kapoor-Kriti Sanon's song 'Mashooqa' landed in trouble after social media users and Redditors accused composer Pritam of copying the 1993 Italian track "Se So Arrubate A Nonna".

Netizens shared the original song and slammed Pritam for allegedly copying it and adding Hindi lyrics.

A user wrote, "It's still a dull song even after Pritam copied it.."

Another person wrote, "Bollywood copying again?"

A third comment read, "It sounds the same."

Pritam reacts to Cocktail 2′ 'Mashooqa' plagiarism allegations

However, several fans took a stand to defend Pritam, highlighting that the song may have been inspired by the OG Italian track. "This is called sampling, not stealing/copying. It's when you take the main beat of a song and layer other instruments over it with changed lyrics. It's a very popular concept in the music industry. Pitbull, Taylor Swift, Kanye West and many more artists also sample songs," a Reddit user elaborated.

But now, the composer has reacted to it all, and he is not happy. He took to Instagram Stories late Wednesday night and expressed his anger.

"Every single one of my song releases comes with a set of self-appointed music detectives, who have created a new genre called 'imaginary similarities'. Same people, same 'inspired by' thesis. Boss, at this point, you are my unpaid PR team. I just want to say guys NOT NICE," he wrote.

Cocktail 2's song "Mashooqa" has been composed by Pritam, with Amitabh Bhattacharya's lyrics. It has been voiced by Raghav Chaitanya and Mahmood Ruaa Kayy, with the Italian bits written and performed by Mahmood. The track's video shows Kriti and Shahid's characters travelling to different places together and falling in love.

The original song "Se So Arrubate A Nonna" is a Neapolitan track by Italian duo Bibi and Coco. It was released in 1993 as one of the songs from their album Le Origini Vol. 2. The title translates to "The Kidnapped Grandma" in the Neapolitan dialect. While the track wasn't a worldwide hit, it has gained cult status in recent years.

Pritam has been the man behind successful music albums for films such as Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Barfi!, Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, among several others. His latest, Cocktail 2, starring Shahid Kapoor, Kriti Sanon and Rashmika Mandanna, is a spiritual sequel to the 2012 hit Cocktail.