Instepexclusive: Hadiqa Kiani is Equal Pakistan’s latest ambassador by Spotify

Hadiqa Kiani is the ambassador for Spotify’s Equal Pakistan initiative starting May 22, after Arooj Aftab (March) and Mehak Ali (April). The effort, Equal Pakistan (Sustaining Momentum), should make more than the South Asian diaspora curious and look up her work - and we don’t mean the stolen versions - as they find a billboard featuring her on Times Square. Add to this her incredible performances in Dobara and Raqeeb Se, and the iconic singer might just find herself ready to cross geographical constraints.

Meanwhile, Hadiqa Kiani, the singer is not too pleased. And it isn’t because of Equal Pakistan at all. Massacring a Pakistani song by recreating it in an awful fashion and, that too, with or without accrediting the original artist is done with a level of nonchalance that’s far too common.

The most recent artist to face this dilemma is Hadiqa for ‘Boohey Barian’ from her album, Roshni. For a great many people, the name Hadiqa Kiani is synonymous with ‘Boohey Barian’ much like Junoon and ‘Sayonee’ or Strings’ and ‘Sar Kiye’.

So, it comes as a shock that Saregama Music has released ‘Boohey Baarian’ as a song sung by one Kanika Kapoor, without any credit to Hadiqa Kiani or royalty involved. As this story of theft reached Hadiqa, she confirmed in an Instagram story: “Another day and another shameless rendition of the song my mother wrote. No one asked for my permission, no one has given me royalties, they just take the song that my mother wrote and I recorded, and use it as an easy money making scheme.”

Hadiqa stated that while she has nothing against the singer and others who have sung her songs, she is essentially angry because she wasn’t credited and there was no royalty given to her either.

As the record label Saregama Music resorted to tricks such as stating royalty was paid, Hadiqa further confirmed via Instagram, “No, they [Saregama India] don’t [own the rights]. I have never sold rights to this song or any song on my Roshni album (1998). Many companies have illegally claimed my songs - since in the ‘90s it was an easy thing to do - but we are taking appropriate action to get justice not just for my songs but for the thousands of songs by Pakistani artists stolen during this time.”

As Hadiqa rightfully takes action, it must be remembered that something like this has happened before.

Bollywood also massacred Zeb and Haniya’s ‘Bibi Sanam Janam’ from Coke Studio and used it in a film called Cabaret with a reworked version sung by Usha Uthap. It compeled Zeb Bangash to write about the issue in Scroll India. Coming back to Hadiqa, the singer-songwriter and actor will take legal action and perhaps that will move others to think twice before stealing a song.