The
use of Biwi No 1’s iconic song Chunnari Chunnari in Varun Dhawan and David Dhawan’s film Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai did not go down well with producer Vashu Bhagnani of Pooja Entertainment. Earlier this month, he decided to take legal action against the makers for the alleged unauthorised use of intellectual property belonging to him. While the music rights were licensed to Ramesh Taurani’s Tips Industries Limited, which is backing the upcoming rom-com, the producer claims that no consent was taken from him by the team. What made the matter more complicated was his equation with the Dhawans. In a press conference on Friday, he explained what happened between them and demanded that his rights be restored.
What Happened Between Vashu Bhagnani, David Dhawan?
Vashu told the media that in 2020, he suffered a loss of around Rs 27 crore in
Coolie No 1 (Varun Dhawan's remake). He felt that he was only a nominal producer in the project and David handled most of the production and expenses. Reportedly, he paid him about Rs 70 crore for the film, which Vashu felt was more than the director's usual fee. He also said that during the COVID period, David assured him that the earlier loss would be taken care of in future.Vashu also wanted to make
Biwi No 1 with David and was hopeful that they would sort it out in this collaboration. Rohit Dhawan, Varun's brother, was working on the script of the film. The work continued for about six months, but Rohit later said that it was not ready. Vashu and David decided to slow down the process.
Vashu Bhagnani On Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai Song
A few months later, Bhagnani found out that Taurani and David were working on a new film -
Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai. He said this made him feel disappointed, but he could not stop it. Later, it came to his notice that
Chunnari Chunnari was used in this movie. Vashu said that he questioned David =and his son about it, but he was told that the producer wanted to use the song and they had no option in the matter.During the press conference, he explained that the audio rights of Biwi No 1 were sold to Tips at the time of release. However, he alleged that the song was used again without proper permission, and he was not even properly consulted. He also said that if he had been informed properly by David, he would have had no objection and would have given permission. He added that he expected more understanding and communication from industry colleagues.For now, the court has ordered a status quo.