Singer Jasleen Royal says it is disheartening when fellow artistes resort to ‘stealing’

Jasleen Royal recently made headlines for the ‘right’ reasons. The playback singer from Punjab moved court against another popular singer, Guru Randhawa, lyricist Raj Ranjodh and music label T-Series for stealing her composition.

It’s all in public domain how the original tune was composed by Jasleen during the promotional event of Runway 24, but never made it to the film. To her surprise, Guru Randhawa and Raj Ranjodh used the same composition in the album G Thing’s song All Right. As she secured a positive response from the Bombay High Court with an interim order — that the song All Right be removed from all streaming platforms — Jasleen exclusively talked to The Tribune about the whole episode and why is it important for the artistes to be aware of their rights in this competitive world. Read on!

How do you respond to Guru Randhawa’s recent statement regarding the lawsuit?

It’s convenient to distance yourself from the song at this stage and reduce your role to ‘I am just a singer’. The fact is that he claimed credit as the composer, alongside Raj, at the time of the song’s release. So was he lying then, or is he lying now? In any case, passing off someone else’s works as their own seems to have become a pattern. If he was only the singer, why would I have pursued the matter against him? I’m well-advised and haven’t pursued this lawsuit lightly. He can underplay his role at this stage but it’s only making his position worse, not mine.

What was your initial reaction when you first saw your song ‘stolen’ through a YouTube video?

It was a mix of shock and deep disappointment for me. I couldn’t believe that such a thing had happened, and it took a while for reality to sink in. Once I processed the situation, I immediately decided to seek legal advice to ensure that my rights were protected, and took necessary steps to address the issue through proper legal channels.

How long did it take for you to react to this legally? Did you pursue a soft approach earlier by reaching out to T-Series or the artistes?

I didn’t see any reason to reach out directly to any of the parties, as their actions demonstrated a clear disregard for my intellectual property. Coming from fellow Punjabi artistes, it was deeply disheartening, and I decided right away that pursuing legal action was the most effective way to address the situation and to protect my rights, rather than attempting a soft approach.

Are you happy with the interim order and what’s next in your fight against this ‘stealing’?

The action initiated by me has had tangible effects. It has resulted in the ‘infringed’ song being taken down from all platforms and now they can’t use it without a notice to me. That, in itself, is a welcome relief. Now, I must soldier on to protect my work and fight this through.

In the music industry, there must be many who must have advised you against the idea of going against T-Series, a big music label; was there any initial pressure to not pursue the case?

I’ve always believed in speaking the truth and respecting intellectual property — of my works and that of others. I also like to equip myself with the right advice because I know my music is what defines me. It’s meant to be nurtured, respected and protected. Insofar as working with colleagues in the industry is concerned, it’s unfortunate when someone so accomplished fails to recognise and respect another artiste’s creations. I really hope fellow artistes can borrow from my experience and not shy away from taking steps to protect their works. Usually artistes come together in good faith, for the love of music. But in no way is that a licence for any artiste to disregard and steal the creation of others.