Manoj Muntashir speaks on plagiarism row; says, 'None of my creations are 100% original'

Ace lyricist-dialogue writer Manoj Muntashir recently addressed plagiarism accusations against him in a video on his YouTube channel. Manoj, who is known for penning some soul-stirring songs like Teri Mitti and more addressed the accusation that his poem ‘Mujhe Call Karna’ from his book ‘Meri Fitrat Hai Mastana’ seems quite similar to writer Robert Lavery’s couplets from 2007. Manoj Muntashir whose full name is Manoj Munatshir Shukla shared that none of his ‘creations are 100% original’ and that he took inspiration from many before penning any. 

In the 17 minute video on his YouTube channel, Manoj added that not just this poem, in fact, a lot of his works have been inspired by other writers as well. Elucidating upon the same, he admitted that Momin's lines inspired him to write 'one paragraph of the song Teri Galiyan.' "Tere Sang Yara was inspired by Firakh Gorakhpuri’s couplets, and my own song Teri Mitti has been translated in so many languages but I do not think my name was credited anywhere," he shared.  

Manoj Muntashir breaks his silence on plagiarism accusations against him

Further, in the video, Manoj confessed that In the video, Manoj said that the poem Mujhe Call Karna does not have such a big role in his success, so it appears quite inconsequential as to why he would plagiarise something when his other popular creations have all been original. He compared it to accusing a millionaire of stealing 200 bucks saying that just like the millionaire does not need to steal, he also does not need to plagiarise.

Manoj in the video said, “Not just one, but each and every song I write has been inspired from other poems and couplets by famous writers. I have written approximately 400 filmy and non-filmy songs in my career till now and the book which is being talked about, I have used as a reference for my inspiration. Also, I have used the book’s poems during my presence at various stage shows. There has been no dearth of content and all people could do is just find 4 lines from my song being taken from somewhere else. I get calls from people not because of Teri Mitti, Teri Galliyan, or more, so these couplets don’t really matter much.”

Adding, he said, “This looks more like if we are trying to accuse a crorepati taking bribe worth 200 rupees which might even not matter to that rich person. So, what I am trying to say is that people should accuse you of something that should sound more realistic. So, here I am confessing that any of my written work is 100 per cent original.”  Towards the end of the video, Manoj admitted that when he won an award for the popular track Mere Rashke Qamar, he was the first to credit late singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Buland Shehri and co-writers for it. His award-winning song from Baadshaho was a rebooted version of the original Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan song.

IMAGE: Instagram/@ManojMuntashir: