Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai makers react to 'baseless allegations' made by Vashu Bhagnani: 'We are the owners of the songs'

Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai has recently been making headlines for its recreated tracks, and now the makers of the film have issued a sharp response to producer Vashu Bhagnani over his allegations linked to the songs Chunnari Chunnari and Ishq Sona Hai from the 1999 film Biwi No. 1.

The team, along with producer Ramesh Taurani and Tips Music, issued an official statement and dismissed Bhagnani’s claims, accusing him of attempting to negatively impact the film.

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Makers address the allegations

In their statement, the team said, "Recently, a series of baseless allegations have been made against us by Mr Vashu Bhagnani. It is amply clear to us that this is a smear campaign driven by personal vendetta, intended to derail the release of our film Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai."

The production team also referred to their decades-long association with Bhagnani, and added, "Our association with Mr. Bhagnani dates back to 1995, when we generously offered him a 50 percent partnership and a producer credit on a project for which we had laid out all the ground work. Coolie No. 1 went on to become a massive box office hit and gave Mr. Bhagnani a kick-start in the industry."

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The makers further alleged that despite maintaining silence for a long time out of respect for their past relationship, Bhagnani continued making public accusations. "However, Mr. Bhagnani remains determined to spread misinformation via various platforms, including social media. Suspiciously, he has also chosen to file a legal complaint in Kathihar court in Bihar over 2000 kms away from Mumbai. He decided to take legal action against all associated with our film rather than engage in direct dialogue."

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"We are the lawful owners."

Addressing the music rights issue, the team asserted, "We maintain that we are the absolute and lawful owners of the songs 'Chunnari Chunnari' and 'Ishq Sona Hai'. Since this matter is sub judice, this will be the only statement we shall be making at this time. We have full faith in the legal system of our country and are confident that justice will prevail."

What's the controversy?

The controversy began after Bhagnani publicly objected to the use of the recreated versions of Chunnari Chunnari and Ishq Sona Hai in the film. He alleged that the required permissions and No Objection Certificates had not been obtained for the tracks, both originally featured in Biwi No. 1, which he produced.

Bhagnani had also claimed that the storyline of Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai resembled the Salman Khan-starrer.

Directed by David Dhawan, the comedy entertainer stars Varun Dhawan, Pooja Hegde and Mrunal Thakur. The film is slated to hit theatres on June 5.