Mumbai: Music composer Amaal Mallik has shared that he fought the system of Hindi film music all alone more than a decade ago, and didn’t receive any support.
His recent statement comes in the light of the ongoing controversy over alleged non-payment of dues to music composer Tanishk Bagchi.
Sunday, Amaal Mallik took to his X, formerly Twitter, and shared a picture of himself looking into the camera with a dead pan expression. He also penned a note in the caption. However, he did not explicitly mention Tanishk Bagchi or the music label YRF.
He wrote, “People in the music industry waking up 10 years too late. Where were you in 2015 when I was fighting the system alone”.
Amaal Mallik has repeatedly spoken out against what he describes as unfair practices within the Indian music industry. He has criticised the growing influence of labels over creative decisions, alleging that talented composers and singers are often sidelined in favour of commercially driven choices.
He has also questioned the lack of transparency in credit distribution, royalty structures and opportunities for independent musicians.
On Saturday, Tanishk Bagchi, who composed the title of the blockbuster film ‘Saiyaara’, alleged that he hasn’t been paid the royalty for the chartbuster track. He took to his Instagram, and shared the poster of the film. He also penned a long note in the caption, and shared how he feels betrayed as he wasn’t remunerated correctly.
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. From the production to the composition, working with the lyricist and singers, recording, vocal tuning, sound, arrangements every single detail mattered to me. I treated it like it was my own. Whatever YRF had paid me, all of that nominal amount was used to do the live and mixes ..what was left was zero, yes. That’s what I earned from a song so big”.
He further mentioned that as per the documentation and paperwork behind the making of the song, he is yet to receive INR 8 lacs as royalty for the song.
YRF, on its part, released an official statement, and said that the song wasn’t solely composed by Tanishk Bagchi, but it was a collaboration between 3 composers Tanishk Bagchi, Faheem Abdullah and Arslan Nizami. They shared that the royalties for the title track have been shared equally with all 3 composers, and will continue to be shared by the production house.