A year after Saiyaara took over the box office and its title track became one of the biggest musical hits of the year, the film has landed in an unexpected controversy. On its first anniversary, composer Tanishk Bagchi claimed that he is still waiting to receive ₹8 lakh in royalties for the chartbuster song. The post quickly grabbed attention online, but after Yash Raj Films (YRF) responded, saying all payments had been made as per the agreed contract, Bagchi deleted his statement from Instagram.
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After Tanishk Bagchi’s claims gained attention online, Yash Raj Films released an official statement saying that every collaborator had been paid according to the terms of their agreement.
“Saiyaara title track was a beautiful collaboration between three composers (Tanishk Bagchi along with Faheem Abdullah and Arslan Nizami). We are deeply thankful for their brilliance in creating a timeless song that has touched a million hearts. Royalties for the title track have been shared and will continue to be shared by YRF equally between all three composers as contractually agreed by all, including Tanishk. YRF has paid every collaborator their due, as per contract, all within mutually agreed terms & time,” the spokesperson stated.
Shortly after YRF’s clarification, Tanishk deleted his Instagram post, which was posted on July 18.
On Saturday, Tanishk Bagchi shared a detailed Instagram post explaining why he felt disappointed despite the title track becoming one of the biggest songs of the year. He made it clear that he was not looking for sympathy but wanted to speak about his experience of working on the song.
The Saiyaara title track, composed by Tanishk Bagchi, Faheem Abdullah and Arslan Nizami, with lyrics by Irshad Kamil and vocals by Faheem Abdullah, became one of the defining songs of the film even before its release. The romantic drama, directed by Mohit Suri and starring (Ahaan Panday) and (Aneet Padda), went on to become a massive box office success, earning ₹577 crore worldwide and emerging as the highest-grossing Indian romantic film.
To mark its first anniversary, Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda recently unveiled a special two-disc collector’s edition Saiyaara LP vinyl, featuring the film’s music along with handwritten diary notes reflecting on their journey at Wembley Stadium.
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“This was my first film with @yrfentertainment @yrfmusic… I agreed to everything because I believed in the music. I gave this song everything I had. From the production to the composition, working with the lyricist and singers, recording, vocal tuning, sound, arrangements every single detail mattered to me. I treated it like it was my own,” he wrote.
Tanishk further claimed that the amount he was paid for the project was spent entirely on creating the song. “Whatever YRF had paid me all of that nominal amount was used to do the live and mixes ..what was left was zero ,yes. Thts wat i earned from a song so big,” he stated.
The composer said his biggest concern was the royalty amount that, according to him, is still pending. “What hurts the most is that, as per the royalty statement, I’m still yet to receive just ₹8 lakhs in royalties for a song that has gone on to do millions of streams and views across platforms. Honestly, for the amount of work, time and passion I put into this song, ₹8 lakhs feels like peanuts. I genuinely believed a song that reached this scale would have earned much more,” he added.
Tanishk also said the episode has changed the way he looks at the music industry. “I’m not writing this for sympathy. I’m writing this because I know what I put into this song, and I know the sacrifices I made to bring it to life… This experience has changed the way I look at this industry. From now on, I’ll only work with producers and directors who value creativity, honesty and the people who build their music,” he wrote.
Ending his note, the composer hinted at feeling let down after the song’s success while expressing gratitude towards director Mohit Suri and lyricist Irshad Kamil. “One thing I’ve also learned is that sometimes you give people your everything, and when success comes, they forget who stood by them. Anyway, I leave the rest to God. Time tells every story, and karma settles every account. The only person i respect in this whole film is @mohitsuri .because of him i did this film ..and @irshadkamilofficial.”
