Pritam dismisses plagiarism allegations over 'Cocktail 2' song 'Mashooqa', calls critics 'unpaid PR team'

Many users claimed the two tunes sounded nearly identical.Pritam responded to critics in a post on his Instagram stories, calling them his unpaid PR team.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.

Music composer Pritam has refuted allegations of plagiarism surrounding ''Mashooqa'', a song from the upcoming film ''Cocktail 2'', after social media users claimed its tune was lifted from a 1993 Italian track.

The controversy erupted after a Reddit user shared a comparison video placing ''Mashooqa'' alongside ''Se So Arrubate A Nonna'', a Neapolitan song by Italian duo Bibi and Coco from their 1993 album ''Le Origini Vol. 2''. Many users claimed the two tunes sounded nearly identical.

Pritam responded to critics in a post on his Instagram stories, calling them his ''unpaid PR team''.

''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.

The online debate also saw several users revisiting older plagiarism allegations against the composer.

''Mashooqa'' has been composed by Pritam with lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya. It is sung by Raghav Chaitanya and Mahmood Ruaa Kayy, with the Italian portions written and performed by singer Mahmood.

''Cocktail 2'', which features Shahid Kapoor, Kriti Sanon and Rashmika Mandanna, is set to be released on June 19. The film is directed by Homi Adajania and produced by Maddock Films and Luv Films.