Manoj Muntashir, who wrote the popular track ‘Teri Mitti’ for Akshay Kumar’s ‘Kesari’ film, has reacted to allegations of plagirism and said that none of his creations are purely original.
The poet has been accused of copying ‘Mujhe Call Karna’ from writer Robert Lavery’s 2007 poem. The poem is part of Muntashir’s book ‘Meri Fitrat Hai Mastana’.
In a video, Muntashir said, “None of my creations are 100% original. File petitions against me and I will respect every decision of the court. Momin’s lines inspired one stanza of the song Teri Galiyan, Tere Sang Yara was inspired by Firakh Gorakhpuri’s couplets and my own song Teri Mitti has been translated in so many languages but I do not think my name was written anywhere.”
“I am not going to stop or bend. It is only my talent and hard work that have brought me from Gauriganj streets to Rajpath. I am being punished for being a nationalist. Those attacking me must know, it is impossible to stop me. Kindly check if I mentioned Robert Lavery’s name. Get at it now. I am Manoj Muntashir Shukla and I am proud of it,” the writer added.
Talking about ‘Mujhe Call Karna’, Muntashir compared it to a millionaire being accused of a robbery for Rs 200, saying, it’s inconsequential to his success as to why he’d plagiarise something when he has many other popular creations of his own.
To make his point, he also said that content in the public domain is open for interpretation. Explaining the same, he said AR Rahman’s ‘Maa Tujhe Salmaam’ was inspired by Bakin Chandra Chatterjee’s Vande Matram and hence he doesn’t need to credit him for the same. Same was the case with “Robert Lavry’s writing which inspired him for his poem. He also affirmed that in the new edition of his book ‘Meri Fitrat Hai MAstana’ he will credit Lavry for inspiring him for the poem.
He also spoke about ‘Teri Mitti’, saying it was inspired by Kaifi Azmi’s song ‘Kar Chale Hum Fida’ from the film Haqeeqat. “I have shared this in several interviews too because I want the new writers to know about this and learn. I don’t want to sit back and call myself a legend or a genius and not share things with others.”
Giving more clarity he also addressed the controversy when it was alleged that ‘Teri Mitti’ is a rip-off of a folk song which went viral on social media. He said that the alleged video by Geeta Rabri is available on YouTube and was released months after the ‘Kesari’ song.
