Bigg Boss 19 sued for ₹2 crore over unauthorised use of Chikni Chameli and Dhat Tere Ki songs in show: Report

Salman Khan returned as host with Bigg Boss 19. The popular yet controversial show has been streaming on television and OTT since its premiere on August 24. Almost a month later, the makers of the show reportedly landed in legal trouble over alleged unauthorised use of Bollywood songs.

Bigg Boss 19 sued for ₹2 crore over unauthorised use of songs

According to a report of Mid-day, Phonographic Performance Limited, India's oldest licensing organisation, has sent a legal notice to Bigg Boss 19 makers, citing that the show has used songs-- Chikni Chameli from Agneepath and Dhat Tere Ki from Gori Tere Pyaar Mein in episode 11 of the show, but without permission.

The episode aired on 3 September.

Reportedly, they demand ₹2 crore from the makers in damages and license fee.

They also accused Endemol Shine India of using the music recordings without securing a mandatory public performance license.

As per the report, the notice was served on 19 September.

The notice was served by advocate Hiten Ajay Wasan and holds the production house’s directors, Thomas Gousset, Nicolas Chazarain, and Deepak Dhar, accountable as responsible parties.

Talking about unauthorised music use, a source from legal team was quoted by the report, "Both songs are licensed to Sony Music Entertainment India, one of the 450-plus music labels whose public performance rights are exclusively administered by PPL. PPL argues that because Endemol Shine India did not obtain a licence under Section 30 of the Copyright Act 1957, the use amounts to a ‘wilful infringement’."

Meanwhile, the makers of the show are yet to release a statement in this matter.

About Bigg Boss 19

Bigg Boss 19 began with 16 contestants this season. The list included Ashnoor Kaur, Zeishan Quadri, Tanya Mittal, Awez Darbar, Nagma Mirajkar, Nehal Chudasama, Abhishek Bajaj, Baseer Ali, Gaurav Khanna, Natalia Janoszek, Pranit More, Farhana Bhat, Neelam Giri, Mridul Tiwari, Kunickaa Sadanand, and Amaal Mallik.

So far, Natalia Janoszek and Nagma Mirajkar were evicted from the house.

Recently, Nehal Chudasama was removed from the house and kept in the secret room. Later, she re-joined the show in a surprise turn of events.

This upcoming Weekend Ka Vaar will see another elimination round.