Pop-icon Dua Lipa’s performance on Levitating and Who Girl Joe mashup at the Mumbai concert left fans ecstatic. However, it reignited conversations about recognition of the original creators, with singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya expressing his disappointment over it. Abhijeet sings in an exclusive conversation with India Today Digital badshah title songShared his thoughts on the global appeal of the mashup and the lack of proper credit for its creators.

He also claimed that Dua was misled by middlemen (advertisers, marketing) who did not inform him about the song and its proper credits.
“I am proud that our song has reached such heights. But why doesn’t anyone say that this is Anu Malik’s creation? Why doesn’t anyone mention Javed Akhtar’s songs or my voice? Why did Dua choose this song? Because it’s viral—but that doesn’t mean it’s a hit in itself. The mashup made it popular,” he said.

The veteran singer said that misinformation about the track’s origins misleads artists like Dua Lipa. “It’s not his fault; It is not even Shahrukh Khan’s fault in this. But the credit for this should go to the team. Suppose it is Anu Malik’s song, Abhijeet’s song, Javed Akhtar’s song and Shahrukh’s film. Accept everyone,” he shared.

Abhijeet explains how the mashup gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic and became an instant sensation. “It’s a creative mashup that started three years ago. It’s a product of the digital age, but the creators behind the original deserve recognition. Abhijeet said, even Dua Lipa herself would not know the complete story of the song.

earlier today, Abhijeet’s son Jai Bhattacharya also condemned it On credit issues in an Instagram post. Abhijeet spoke about how his son was affected by the lack of acceptance. “My son felt bad. If the son doesn’t feel bad then who will? I don’t want people to give me undue credit, but why mislead the world? It’s important to recognize everyone’s contributions,” he told us.

Finally, Abhijeet drew parallels between this situation and other iconic tracks like Slumdog Millionaire’s Jai Ho and the evergreen classic Lag Ja Gale, and highlighted the importance of acknowledging the original creators and preserving the legacy of such music.

“You say this is Rahman’s song. You don’t just call it a hit song; You tell the name of the manufacturer. Even with Lag Ja Gale you call it Lata Mangeshkar’s song. But nowadays the trend is changing. It’s sad,” he concluded.

Dua was in Mumbai to perform on 30 November. She was seen in a white dress while performing at BKC in Mumbai.