Fans of Bollywood and K-pop are abuzz with claims that BLACKPINK's singer Jennie Kim's upcoming track Like Jennie sounds strikingly similar to the theme song of actress Alia Bhatt's character Rani from the film Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani.
The controversy began when listeners noticed the resemblance between Jennie's track and the introduction song from the 2023 Karan Johar-directed film. The Rani theme was composed by Pritam. The music composer has found himself in the midst of another plagiarism controversy, but this time, netizens believe he is the victim.
A section of users on Reddit also asked if Rani theme song is original or whether it has been copied from somewhere.
Social media is now flooded with side-by-side comparisons of both songs, sparking debates and discussions among fans.
A social media user wrote, "Never in my life would I have thought that I would see Alia vs Jennie here 😭😭"
"Girl Jennie’s new song reminds me of Rani (aliaa bhatt) Entrance song from Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani!!! Like do my desi/Indian peeps get it???" asked another user.
"There is hardly enough resemblance between these two tracks, other than the portion of repeating the singer’s name, which has been done many times in many songs before. Alia’s fans did a stretch to call it’s a copycat. And K-pop fans are toxic to get back at Alia. Both fandoms are stupid," wrote another user.
A comment read, "Even if they copied what's the point of discussing, India Films copies a lots of things from foreign movies, no need to question anyone."
Here's how others reacted:
Pritam has not reacted to the controversy yet.
Meanwhile, Jennie is gearing up for her much-anticipated solo album. It is all set to release on March 7.
In 2023, she launched her own independent label, OA, and in September 2024, announced a collaboration with Columbia Records. Her album's first single was released a month later, achieving success by reaching the No 2 spot on the Billboard US Excl. chart and No 3 on the Billboard Top 200.
