Ben's Bargain Center - Archive

dj Cheb i Sabbah Files Copyright Infringement Suit


Just got word that popular San Francisco based DJ and music producer Cheb i Sabbah is suing Bollywood in Federal court in Los Angeles for the illegal use of his hit song, Kese Kese from his Shri Durga Album (Six Degrees 1999) in the upcoming film , Plan, which is to be released by White Feather Films, a joint venture of Sanjay Dutt, Sanjay Gupta, and Bobby Anand, the people behind the film Kaante. Plan is expected to be one of the top ten Bollywood Blockbusters of 2004 according to the IndiaTimes.com website. In addition to the soundtrack, the film will be shown in theaters worldwide, followed by a DVD release. Despite the popularity of the original “Kese Kese,” Cheb i Sabbah was never contacted by the film’s producers or music directors for permission to use his work. Plan’s soundtrack, produced by music director Anand Raj Anand, uses vocals from the popular Pakistani artist Adnan Sami along with Sunidhi Chauhan.

More will follow when I hear, but I must say this is sad news. Why anyone would take advantage of Cheb is unkown to me. He is a very talented and genuinely nice person, and the people behind the film should pay up to use his work.


Stay tuned--The Satya Circle will be printing my review of Cheb's As far As, and an interview with him shortly.

If you would like to see all of/ and buy his any of his albums, see his amazon.com page by clicking here.

Update 12/23

I have heard the song in question, and the song entitled Kaise Kaise from Plan, does not just borrow from Cheb i Sabbah's tune, it straight jacks the beat and lyrical themes.

I think enough is enough when it comes to intellectual property and copyright issues in Bollywood and in Hindi Cinema. For far too long Bollywood has been stealing ideas for film, ideas for song, and in this case an actual song from a non-Indian artist who has shown so much love for Indian tunes. For an industry, and specific producers, trying to make into Western markets, it is soon becoming time to work in accord with Western standards.

posted by sajit @ 7:56 PM