Nirmala Maghani serves legal notice to Xulfi over ‘Tu Jhoom’ plagiarism row

Singer Nirmala Maghani serves legal notice to Xulfi over ‘Tu Jhoom’ plagiarism row!

Nirmala Maghani, singer from Umarkot had accused Coke Studio 14 producer Xulfi of plagiarising the ‘Tu Jhoom’ melody without any credit.

As being reported, the legal notice was sent on January 24. And Giraffe Pakistan, a production house co-founded by Xulfi that is handling this year’s Coke Studio productions, acknowledged receiving the notice.

Read more: Umarkot singer accuses Xulfi of plagiarising Coke Studio’s ‘Tu Jhoom’ melody

Maghani’s lawyer Faraz Faheem Siddiqui in the sent legal notice states that the singer had approached Xulfi with the hope of being made part of Coke Studio 14 as “she had made many original compositions” which she shared with the producer so that “she can be part of the program and perform her work on Coke Studio“.

“[M]y client on 14 June 2021 sent her compositions including the composition of the song ‘Tu Mera Ranjha’ to you [Xulfi] on your mobile number through WhatsApp Messenger which all were in the form of a voice note. Thereafter no further communication was made by you, however, on 14 January 2022 when Coke Studio song ‘Tu Jhoom’ was released, my client was surprised to learn that ‘Tu Jhoom’ is made by copying notes and music composition of my client’s song ‘Tu Mera Ranjha’ which was sent to you as a voice note on WhatsApp for review,” read the notice.

“Your act of copying the notes and composition of my client’s song ‘Tu Mera Ranjha’ for the Coke Studio 14 performed by a singer named Naseebo Lal and Abida Parveen without any legal right and permission from my client is a willful and intentional infringement of right of my client and is a blatant violation of the copyright laws of Pakistan.”

The notice demands Xulfi to “immediately cease and desist from using the composition” in ‘Tu Jhoom’ to avoid legal proceedings. Failure to do so will result in a suit for the recovery of Rs100 million, the notice added.

Statement from Giraffe Pakistan

“We have received a notice last evening and our legal team will respond to it through the correct channels in due course. As such, we are constrained to limit our responses in deference to the legal process initiated by Ms. Maghani,” read the statement.

“Xulfi and the team at Giraffe produce and collaborate in the spirit of inclusivity and the work with Coke Studio holds the same philosophy. Xulfi’s work is not borrowed or without credit, given that what he shares with the world is work that relies on the very essence of partnership and collaboration.”