Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar Trailer Sparks Song-Copy Debate, Sujoy Ghosh Defends It: 'No One Claimed…'

The buzz around Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar trailer took an unexpected turn this week. What began as excitement soon turned into debate, as a classic Madhubala qawwali sparked chatter about originality. In the middle of it all, filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh jumped in — not with criticism, but rallying behind the film.

Sujoy Ghosh steps in after Dhurandhar faces ‘no originality’ chatter

The trailer for Dhurandhar made a loud entry online, especially with its use of the iconic Na Toh Karvan Ki Talaash Hai in the final moments. Sujoy Ghosh was among the first to cheer for the film, posting on X to share how much he enjoyed the cut.

“That dhurandhar trailer is toooo good. all my favorite actors in one film. And that song at the end of the trailer? ekdum kickum

assum,” Sujoy wrote.

His praise instantly invited reactions, including one from a user who argued that Bollywood continues to reuse old songs. The comment read, “That song at the end of #Dhurandhar is not original but a version of Manna Dey’s song word by word… in terms of music, Bollywood has zero originality to offer.”

Sujoy responded straight away, shutting down the idea that the team had passed the track off as new. Shutting the user down, he replied, “No one claimed its original. infact if anything… its good that they got a song from barsaat ki raat out there.”

The Madhubala qawwali at the centre of the controversy

The film’s chosen track, Na Toh Karvan Ki Talaash Hai, from the 1960 film Barsaat Ki Raat remains one of Bollywood’s most loved qawwalis. Sung by Manna Dey, Asha Bhosle, Mohammad Rafi, Sudha Malhotra and S. D. Batish, the track carries a strong sense of longing and reflection. With its soulful composition and rich vocals, the song has kept its charm across generations, making it a timeless piece of Hindi film music.

Dhurandhar brings together a massive cast

Directed by Aditya Dhar, Dhurandhar features a star-packed lineup with Ranveer Singh, Arjun, Akshaye Khanna, Sanjay Dutt, along with R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, Sara Arjun and Rakesh Bedi. The film follows the story of an undercover agent and is produced by Aditya Dhar, Jyoti Deshpande and Lokesh Dhar.

It will release in cinemas on 5 December 2025, before heading to Netflix.