4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 2, 2026 07:02 PM IST
The Indian film music industry has been churning out hits since the 1940s, but sadly, composers and singers of the yesteryears have never had any rights over their own compositions. Even now, music composer Ilaiyaraaja is in a battle with Saregama for using the musical rights of the music that he has composed over the years. For decades, composers have just been getting a one-time payment for their services from the producers, and it is the producers or the music companies themselves who earn via royalty. Recently, singer Shaan also opened up about the same as he recalled being in the same room with composers Biddu and Jatin-Lalit and recalled how Biddu found it shocking that despite having mega hits, Jatin-Lalit were still stuck in the same rut.
‘I would have owned my own jet and had my own island’
In a conversation with Cyrus Says’ YouTube channel, Shaan recalled a conversation from 10-15 years ago when Biddu was in Mumbai and met Jatin-Lalit when Shaan was recording with them. At the time, Jatin-Lalit were still composing together. Their last album as a duo was the 2006 film Fanaa.
Shaan shared that Biddu came to the studio and was informed by the singer that Jatin-Lalit were recording the song. “He said, ‘Of course, I know Jatin-Lalit, the guys who did Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. I would love to meet them’,” he recalled.
When Jatin-Lalit came in, they exchanged pleasantries and then Biddu said something shocking. “Biddu looked at them with a straight face and said, ‘If I were you, I would kill myself’,” he recalled.
As soon as Jatin Pandit heard this, he was offended and told Shaan, “What is he saying? We have done so much. We have made a name for ourselves. Why is he saying this?” When Shaan asked Biddu why he said so, the answer surprised all of them.
“He said, ‘If I had done the music for even these two films, I would have owned my own jet and had my own island. Why would I still be in this musky studio trying to make a song?’ So it was a nice backhanded compliment kind of thing,” he shared. Hearing this, Lalit responded, “But this is what we enjoy doing.”
Biddu earns Rs 84 lakh via royalty
Shaan said that in the West, composers and musicians have one big hit and earn royalty from it for the rest of their lives. “The guys who sang ‘Macarena’ have their own jet. You have one big hit, and it plays everywhere,” he said.
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Previously, singer Abhijeet Sawant had also spoken about the same. During his appearance on Pentarise Studios’ YouTube channel, Abhijeet expressed his disappointment over the payment structure for musicians in India and said, “So Biddu, who worked on ‘Lafzon Mein’, also did a couple of songs in the West, and he gets so much royalty payment from those two songs that he can survive his whole life on that money. We don’t even get enough money to sustain our livelihood.”
Biddu is known in India for hits like ‘Made in India’, but internationally, he has composed for Kung Fu Fighting and the famous Pakistani album Disco Deewane for Nazia and Zoheb. During a 2011 interview with Hindustan Times, it was revealed that the artist still receives royalties worth 60,000-70,000 pounds a month, which, would be worth Rs 74 to Rs 84 lakh today.
Shaan recently revealed that Biddu was surprised to learn that Jatin-Lalit hadn't earned much despite delivering several hit songs. (Express archive photo)