The Salman Khan-hosted reality show Bigg Boss 19, famous for its fights, drama, and controversies, has now landed in legal trouble after the makers allegedly used two songs – Katrina Kaif’s Chikni Chameli and Imran Khan’s Dhat Tere Ki – without proper authorisation.
Bigg Boss 19 in legal trouble
According to Mid-day India, Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) has sent a legal notice to Bigg Boss 19 makers, citing that the show has used songs – Chikni Chameli from Agneepath and Dhat Tere Ki from Gori Tere Pyaar Mein in episode 11 of the show, but without permission.
The songs were used in episode 11 that streamed on September 3. PPL India has accused Endemol Shine India, which backs the popular reality show, of using these sound recordings without securing the “mandatory public performance licence”. The notice, dated September 19, was served by advocate Hiten Ajay Wasan and names the production house’s directors – Thomas Gousset, Nicolas Chazarain, and Deepak Dhar – as responsible parties.
“Both songs are licensed to Sony Music Entertainment India, one of the 450-plus music labels whose public performance rights are exclusively administered by PPL. PPL argues that because Endemol Shine India did not obtain a licence under Section 30 of the Copyright Act 1957, the use amounts to a ‘wilful infringement’,” said a source from the legal team.
The organisation has called upon the show’s producers to pay ₹2 crore in damages, along with the requisite licence fees. They also issued a cease-and-desist notice from using its sound recordings without authorisation.
Endemol Shine India and streaming platform JioHotstar are yet to react to the news.
About Bigg Boss 19
Hosted by Salman Khan, the 19th season of the reality show follows the theme of Gharwalon Ki Sarkaar, which gives the housemates more decision-making power than Bigg Boss himself. Last Sunday, the show witnessed its first elimination. Social media influencer Nagma Mirajkar and Polish actor Natalia Janoszek became the first contestants to exit this season in a double eviction.
Now, the remaining housemates include Gaurav Khanna, Ashnoor Kaur, Nehal Chudasama, Baseer Ali, Zeishaan Quadri, Neelam Giri, Tanya Mittal, Awez Darbar, Kunickaa Sadanand, Farhana Bhatt, Shehbaz Badesha. The show streams every day at 9 PM on JioCinema and airs at 10:30 PM on Colors TV.