YRF, Tanishk Bagchi Quarrel Over ‘Saiyaara’ Royalty Payments

MUMBAI-Yash Raj Films (YRF) has responded to music composer Tanishk Bagchi’s allegation that he was not paid the royalty due for the title track of the blockbuster film ‘Saiyaara’, saying the song was a collaborative effort and that royalties have been shared equally among all three composers as per their contractual agreement.

YRF said the title track was composed jointly by Tanishk Bagchi, Faheem Abdullah and Arslan Nizami, and that royalties have been and will continue to be distributed equally among the three.

 “‘Saiyaara’ title track was a beautiful collaboration between three composers, Tanishk Bagchi along with Faheem Abdullah and Arslan Nizami. We are deeply thankful for their brilliance in creating a timeless song that has touched millions of hearts. Royalties for the title track have been shared and will continue to be shared by YRF equally between all three composers as contractually agreed by all, including Tanishk. YRF has paid every collaborator their due, as per contract, all within mutually agreed terms & time,” it said.

Bagchi alleged in an Instagram post that he had not been fairly remunerated despite his contribution to the title track.

He wrote, “This was my first film with @yrfentertainment @yrfmusic. I agreed to everything because I believed in the music. I gave this song everything I had. Whatever YRF had paid me, all of that nominal amount was used to do the live and mixes… what was left was zero. That’s what I earned from a song so big”.

Bagchi said that, according to the royalty statements, he is yet to receive Rs 8 lakh for the song despite its massive success across streaming and digital platforms.

He wrote, “What hurts the most is that, as per the royalty statement, I’m still yet to receive just ₹8 lakhs in royalties for a song that has gone on to do millions of streams and views across platforms. Honestly, for the amount of work, time and passion I put into this song, ₹8 lakhs feels like peanuts. I genuinely believed a song that reached this scale would have earned much more.”

Bagchi said the experience had changed the way he viewed the industry and added, “One thing I’ve also learned is that sometimes you give people your everything, and when success comes, they forget who stood by them. Anyway, I leave the rest to God. Time tells every story, and karma settles every account. The only person I respect in this whole film is @mohitsuri because of him I did this film…and @irshadkamilofficial”. (IANS)