Cocktail 2 Song Controversy: Is Shahid-Kriti's Mashooqa Copied? Internet Divided Over Pritam’s New Track

Cocktail 2 Controversy: The romantic track "Mashooqa" from Cocktail 2 has triggered a fresh controversy, as listeners online claim its tune sounds similar to a 1993 Italian song titled "Se So Arrubate A Nonna". The debate has again placed composer Pritam Chakraborty under public scrutiny over alleged musical borrowing.

Maddock Films released "Mashooqa" recently as a romantic number from Cocktail 2, featuring Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon on a scenic coastal drive. As the video gathered views, Reddit users began comparing the melody with "Se So Arrubate A Nonna", even editing both tracks side by side for easier comparison.

Mashooqa song controversy grows as Reddit users react

The side-by-side edit quickly attracted comments, with many users insisting the two songs sounded close. One comment read, "It's still a dull song even after Pritam copied it." Another user said, "It sounds same." A third added jokingly, "Pritam can't stop copying lol."

Other listeners pushed back against direct plagiarism claims, arguing that the similarity fit within common industry practice. One user wrote, "this is called sampling, not stealing/copying. It's when you take the main beat of a song and layer other instruments over it with changed lyrics. It's a very popular concept in the music industry. Pitbull, Taylor Swift, Kanye and many more artists also sample songs".

The same user also offered a more detailed breakdown of the "Mashooqa" production. The explanation stated, "Mashooqa's beat is faster, compressed and has a smoother textured beat with other instruments. Mashooqa also uses the "copied" beat for a small time and it isn't looped around the same beat. Se So Arrubata is rawer, more vibrant percussion. it's also a loop if you listen closely. If Pritam had copied the song, you would hear the exact same beat and instruments. but Mashooqa has other instruments layered in and that's basically what sampling is; taking a beat as foundation and layering on top of it".

Past allegations resurface around Mashooqa song controversy

The dispute has also revived past allegations against Pritam. Over the years, online discussions have pointed to similarities between some of Pritam's work and international tracks. One such case involved claims that "Bulleya" from Ae Dil Hai Mushkil resembled music by the band Papa Roach, adding to a history of scrutiny.

Pritam has earlier acknowledged mistakes linked to older songs and has said those incidents were part of an earlier phase. With "Mashooqa" now under the spotlight, opinions on social media remain split between those criticising the familiar-sounding tune and others defending the track as an example of sampling within accepted industry practice.