Asim Azhar responds to plagiarism allegations

Not too long ago, Asim Azhar was celebrating 100 million views on YouTube on his song Jo Tu Na Mila and now the same song is embroiled in a plagiarism controversy.

100 MILLION VIEWS. ♥️ #jotunamila

And it gives me immense honour to become the youngest & only the 4th Pakistani artist (after Rahat Fateh Ali Khan sb, Atif Aslam & Momina Mustehsan) to have 2 or more songs in the 100 million club. 😊 thank you. I love you guys. pic.twitter.com/T8donMa54H

— Asim Azhar (@AsimAzharr) May 4, 2020

According to social media users, Jo Tu Na Mila has been loosely copied from Studio Ghibli’s Kiki’s Delivery Service. Kiki’s Delivery Service is a 1989 Japanese animated film about a young witch, Kiki, who moves to a new town and uses her flying ability to earn a living. The soundtrack of the anime was composed by Joe Hisaishi.

After the allegations surfaced, Asim while speaking to a local media publication said that the rights for the music had been acquired through legal means.

“That part of the song has been sampled through proper and legal means under Universal Music India, who released the song,” he said, adding, “Such a big company won’t let such a big release go just like that.”

It is pertinent to mention here that the song’s music in the video is licensed to UMG (on behalf of Universal Music India).

Jo Tu Na Mila is a love ballad which talks about unrequited love. The song, which features Iqra Aziz, has been composed and sung by Asim while the lyrics have been penned by Kunaal Vermaa.

Listen to the song here: