​Badshah Issues A Statement About Genda Phool Controversy

By News Helpline – 1st April 2020

Rapper Badshah’s new single Genda Phool released just last week, the song features Jacqueline Fernandez. The song went viral upon release but got embroiled in copyright controversy over Bangla lyrics and now the rapper issues a statement addressing the issue and efforts he’s been putting to make it right.

Singer and rapper Badshah faced severe backlash on social media for allegedly stealing lines from a Bengali folk song and creating his Genda Phool out of it. Badshah has now said that he wants to help the artist, musician Ratan Kahar, in whatever way he can.

Badshah issued a statement, in which he has tried to explain his side of story and offered sincere intention of helping the original writer Ratan Kahar, which is not easy during the lock down.

The statement read, “I would first like to thank each one of you that have loved and liked the song Genda Phool, especially the appreciation from the Bengali community worldwide, that has made it into the chart topper that it is currently trending worldwide. On the 26th March, I released a single called Genda Phool, which is a Hindi song with Bangla folk lyrics.

A couple of days after the song release, I started getting feedback on my social media that the Bengali lyrics are originally from a song “Boro Loker Beti Lo, that were penned by the veteran Artist Shri Ratan Kahar.

We had however done our due diligence before releasing the song, and nowhere on any copyright societies or on any of the previous reprises/version of the song was Mr. Ratan Kahar credited as lyricist. Information all across say that “boro loker beti lo’ is a traditional/folk song from the Bauls of Bangal. Just for general information, traditional songs are open for recreations/reprises/sampling globally.

I have always believed there is nothing more vibrant and beautiful than our Indian culture, music and languages. Which is why I have, in spite of being a commercial artist, always tried to include elements from my India roots in my music and present it to world with the opportunities that I have.

Genda Phool is my attempt at presenting the gorgeous melody of the Bengali Langauge and the forgotten instrument Dotara, packaged in a commercial song to make it consumable for people not just in India but across the world. Infact to retain authenticity, we have gotten the dotara played by one of the veteran instrumentalists of Bengal, Tapas Ray. The lyrics have also been sung by super talented vocal artist Payal Dev who is Bengali herself, to do justice to the linguistics.

After receiving so much information from the Bengali community, I have been constantly trying my best to reach out to him and connect with him and be able to do justice to the situation to all my might. However, the lockdown situation has not been helpful, it has been difficult to get through to the village that Shri Ratan Kahar is in and I am still trying. I urge and request any of the representatives who have been speaking on his behalf, to help me connect with him so I can do whatever possible on my part on humanitarian grounds to put this right.

I hope my fans and country audience will understand and support that this is a very honest attempt to put our traditional sounds on the world Map and make the world aware of our worth. I urge you all to hear this song as new way of introducing forgotten melodies to the new generation, as a celebration of folk music, People’s Music”

The song Genda Phool has since then been viewed over 65 million times. The lines used in song, especially the Bangla ones, were actually written by someone else. The lines in discussion are from the Bengali folk song Boroloker Bitilo, by Ratan Kahar.