Israeli gymnast Artem Dolgopyat had just won the nation’s first Olympic gold medal in artistic gymnastics. No one could have imagined that this seemingly unrelated event will lead to a viral trend in India.
As per the rules of the game, the flag of Israel was raised and their national anthem Hatikvah was played. It was at this moment that many watchers of the game realized that the music of the song sounds very familiar.
Indians around the globe could not help but notice the uncanny resemblance the Israeli national anthem had with Anu Malik’s song from a 1996 movie Diljale. The song in question was titled ‘Mera desh mera mulk mera ye watan’.
While there have been multiple instances when music composers from Bollywood have picked up famous songs from the past and recomposed them as their own without credit, this time many believed that he had taken it too far. Anu Malik had actually copied the music of a national anthem of a country and composed music to be used in a Bollywood movie.
This led to immediate criticism, memes, and banters across social media. Some already knew that the song was copied from the Israeli national anthem but for many, it took more than 25 years to realize this resemblance.
The song Mera Mulk Mera Desh from ‘Diljale’ had copied the entire melody of Israel’s national anthem, reported TOI. People online had a field day roasting controversial — yet famous — Bollywood music director Anu Malik for blatant plagiarism of the music. Have a look at some of the jokes and memes that surfaced online.
People had a field day making fun of the incident. Anu Malik has meanwhile not commented on the incident. The similarities between the music involved are too obvious to ignore.
