'Race' song in plagiarism row

Aug 6, 2008 DPA

Taipei, Aug 6 (DPA) Taiwanese singer Wang Lee-hom has accused an Indian filmmaker of plagiarising his music and is seeking $320,000 in damages, said his agent Wednesday.

Lee-hom, 33, a US-born singer popular in Southeast Asia, is seeking damages from Tips Films, distributor of the Hindi film "Race", which was released in March, Sony BMG Music Entertainment Ltd said in a statement.

"The lead song in 'Race' - 'Zara Zara touch me', resembles Wang's song 'Deep in the bamboo grove' (Chu Lin Shen Chu). Its rhythm and tempo are similar to that of 'Deep in the bamboo grove'. The similarity is nearly 100 percent," added the statement.

Sony BMG said it reserves the right to take legal action against distributor of "Race" for plagiarism.

In the film, "Zara Zara touch me" was picturised on Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif.

"Race", also starring Akshaye Khanna, Anil Kapoor, Sameera Reddy and Bipasha Basu, has been showcased in India, the US, Britain, Australia and Malaysia and its original soundtrack has also been released in these countries.

"Deep in the bamboo grove" is part of Wang's album "The Sun and Moon in My Heart", a collection of 12 Chinese-language songs released in Dec 2004.

The song mixes a Tibetan woman's singing with hip hop and Chinese drums and flute.

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