The Vvaan Hit With Plagiarism Row Days Before Release: Vocalist Sargam Vaish Accuses Makers of Using His Unreleased Track

Four days before The Vvaan – Force of the Forest opens in theatres, the film has walked into a controversy that has nothing to do with box office competition or release-date traffic and everything to do with a 25-second stretch of its own trailer. Independent vocalist and composer Sargam Vaish is publicly alleging that the makers used his original, unreleased recording of "Aigiri Nandini" without his permission — and a Grammy-winning composer has now put the question directly to the filmmakers in public.

What Vaish is alleging

According to reports from India TV News and Outlook India, Vaish says the disputed audio runs from roughly 1:08 to 1:30 in The Vvaan's official trailer — about 25 seconds built around his rendition of "Aigiri Nandini," a well-known Sanskrit devotional chant. His claim isn't that the makers used a song that merely sounds similar to something he wrote. He says the trailer used his actual master file — his production, his vocals, the specific recording he made — not a new performance built from scratch to resemble it.

That distinction matters. A soundalike dispute is a question of inspiration and derivative work. Vaish's claim, as reported, is closer to unauthorized use of an existing, finished recording that he owns and never released.

Three years of work, already under contract elsewhere

Vaish says he spent about three years developing the track. He has also claimed, per DNA India's report, that the song had already been contracted and signed to another, unnamed production and a major music label — and that it remained unreleased at the time The Vvaan's trailer allegedly used it. If that's accurate, it raises a second layer to the dispute beyond a straightforward rights complaint against The Vvaan's makers: Vaish's own existing agreement with that other, unnamed production and label could also be implicated, since he'd effectively lose control over a track he'd already licensed elsewhere before it ever reached the public.

Ricky Kej asks the question everyone's asking

The controversy picked up serious weight when Grammy-winning composer Ricky Kej — who also sits on the CBFC — weighed in publicly, per IANS's coverage. Kej didn't just comment on the dispute generally; he asked the makers directly: "How did they get access to your master recording when you had not released it yet?"

That's the crux of the whole story. It's not a question about whether "Aigiri Nandini" as a chant can be used in a film — anyone can use it, and more on that below. It's a question about how a specific, unreleased, privately-held audio file allegedly ended up in a major studio trailer at all.

Vaish's answer, and why it's still just his account

Responding to Kej, Vaish said the song had gone to "another big movie" and reached The Vvaan's team "through another circle" before its intended original release. That's a specific and pointed explanation — but it's worth being clear that it's Vaish's own account of how the track allegedly moved between productions, not something verified by any third party, the other unnamed production, or The Vvaan's team. No outlet covering this so far has independently confirmed the chain of custody Vaish is describing. Treat it as his version of events until someone else corroborates it.

What Vaish is demanding

Vaish is asking for the track to be removed from the trailer, and he's threatened legal action if the makers don't respond — saying his legal team "will take care of it" if there's no resolution. As of these reports, no lawsuit or formal legal notice has been confirmed as filed; this is a public demand and threat, not yet a case in court.

The public-domain wrinkle that complicates the story

Here's the detail that keeps this from being a simple, clean-cut plagiarism story: "Aigiri Nandini" itself is a centuries-old Sanskrit devotional chant, firmly in the public domain. Nobody — not Vaish, not anyone else — can claim ownership over the chant itself, its words, or its basic melodic tradition. Any filmmaker is free to use "Aigiri Nandini" in a soundtrack without asking anyone's permission.

What Vaish is alleging is narrower and, if true, more serious than a dispute over the chant: that the makers used his specific original arrangement and his actual unreleased master recording — the particular performance, production choices, and vocals he created over three years — not the underlying public-domain text. That's the entire legal and factual crux of this story, and it's the piece that has to hold up for Vaish's complaint to mean anything. No musicologist or legal expert has weighed in publicly yet on where the line falls between "used the public-domain chant" and "used my specific recording," so that distinction remains the open question at the center of this, not a settled one.

Silence from Balaji, TVF, and the film's stars

As of these reports, there has been no public response from The Vvaan's producers — Ektaa Kapoor's Balaji Motion Pictures/Balaji Telefilms, in association with TVF (The Viral Fever) — nor from stars Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia. That silence is worth sitting with for a moment given the timing: this broke on September 20-21, with the film's theatrical release set for September 25. A film in the final stretch of its marketing push, four days from release, choosing not to address a public accusation from a Grammy-winning composer and an independent artist is itself a notable choice, whether it reflects legal caution, an ongoing internal review, or simply a bet that the story blows over before opening weekend.

RelatedThe Vvaan – Force of the Forest: Everything to Know Before Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia's Mythological Fantasy

Part of a pattern this month

This isn't the only song-plagiarism controversy to hit a major Hindi release in September 2026. Earlier this month, independent artist Rapperiya Balam accused the makers of Mirzapur: The Movie of using his track "Shoorveer" without consent — a claim that has since been rebutted, with music label Trouper Records stating the track was legally licensed to Excel Entertainment. That earlier dispute resolved quickly and in the studio's favor once the licensing chain was made public. Whether The Vvaan's situation follows a similar path — a quick clarification that closes the matter — or turns into something more drawn out likely depends on exactly what the makers say, and when, given that they've said nothing so far.

Why this lands differently than a typical soundalike complaint

Bollywood soundtracks get accused of lifting from independent or regional artists fairly regularly, and most of those disputes fade quickly because they hinge on subjective similarity — two songs that sound alike, with no way to prove one was literally copied from the other. This one is structured differently. Vaish isn't arguing that The Vvaan's trailer sounds like his song. He's arguing that it is his song — his master file, his vocals, his three years of production work — played in a trailer he had nothing to do with, for a track that hadn't even been publicly released yet under its own original deal. That's a claim that, if substantiated, would be far harder for the makers to wave off with a generic "any resemblance is coincidental" statement, which may be part of why there's been no statement from Balaji or TVF at all so far.

It's also a claim that's inherently more checkable than most soundalike disputes. If Vaish genuinely holds the master file, the production stems, and a prior contract with another label, comparing his file against the trailer's audio is a far more concrete exercise than arguing over melodic similarity. That's presumably part of what makes Ricky Kej's public question land the way it has — it's not a vague "sounds familiar" complaint, it's a direct challenge asking the makers to explain a specific chain of custody for a specific unreleased file.

What happens between now and September 25

With the film's theatrical release just days away, there are a few clear things to watch. First, whether Balaji, TVF, or either star issues any statement before release — either denying the claim, offering a licensing explanation the way Trouper Records did for Mirzapur: The Movie, or committing to remove or replace the disputed 25 seconds of trailer audio. Second, whether Vaish's legal team follows through on the threatened action, and if so, whether it arrives before or after the film opens. Third, whether the unnamed "other big movie" and "another circle" Vaish referenced ever get identified publicly, since that's the detail that would either corroborate or undercut his account of how the track allegedly moved between productions.

For now, what's confirmed is narrower than the noise around it: an independent vocalist has made a specific, detailed public allegation, backed by a timestamp and a claimed chain of ownership; a well-known composer has publicly asked the makers to account for it; and the makers themselves have said nothing. Everything else — whether the recording really did travel through "another circle," whether Vaish's prior contract is actually in jeopardy, and how this resolves before or after the film hits theatres on September 25 — is still open.