Well, not a visual treat like the Janet Jackson episode from last year, but a disappointing auditory revelation about the source of one of his song bits.

Damn the Internet. Atleast that’s what Indian composers must be saying everyday. Plagiarism in Indian music, which for a long time was kept under wraps & unleashed on an unknowing audience, has been coming to light over the past some years. You hear a song that sounds vaguely familiar and 1/2 times, a combination of Google & some file sharing technology leads you to the source without too much effort.
Like today, while watching one of those Super Bowl ads for Diet Pepsi, I heard a song that immediately triggered off warning bells about a AR Rahman song from not so long ago. For what its worth, the tune I heard did not make up the entire song, rather it figures during the final 20-30 seconds of the title song from Daud. But it sucked for me personally because that was probably the favorite portion of the song for me.

For anyone interested, here is the Pepsi ad – it’s the first song, the “la la la” tune heard when the girl opens the bottle
Different District | Movies :: iPod + iTunes – 2005 Pepsi/iTunes Ad (Streaming Video).
Downloadable link

Title song from Daud:
Available as streaming audio from Raaga or final 30 odd secs available for download from here .

And finally, the source of both these tunes.
Fiddler on the Roof – If I Were a Rich Man (vocalist – Topol)

Update (Feb 08):
For any more emotional Rahman fans who’d like to clutter my already messed up comments-section.
Daud – Released in 1997
Fiddler on the Roof – Original Broadway Release, 1964
– And just so you know, I like Rahman as much you do. But plagiarism, in any form & by any composer, cannot be given another name. Sorry, but that’s how it is.
– If I think Rahman is going to find and read this little blurb on the Net AND be “disappointed”, then I must be the most deluded person on the planet.