Music composer Tanishk Bagchi shared a detailed note on Instagram claiming that he still awaits Rs 8 lakhs of royalties to be paid by YRF for the 2025 hit film Saiyaara on Saturday, only to later delete it. Tanishk had created the Saiyaara Title Track along with Faheem Abdullah and Arslan Nizami, which emerged as the year’s runaway hit. Tanishk also shared how the fee he received for the song was entirely spent on production.Soon after Tanishk Bagchi’s post, YRF also issued a clarification stating that all dues are cleared and were shared between the three composers. Now, music composer Amaal Mallik seems to have joined the conversation. While he didn’t mention the ongoing issue between Tanishk and YRF, Amaal asked on X, where were others when ‘he fought the system alone’.Tanishk Bagchi-YRF royalty rowIn his now-deleted post, Tanishk had written, “This was my first film with @yrfentertainment @yrfmusic… I agreed to everything because I believed in the music. I gave this song everything I had. From the production to the composition, working with the lyricist and singers, recording, vocal tuning, sound, arrangements, every single detail mattered to me. I treated it like it was my own. Whatever YRF had paid me all of that nominal amount was used to do the live and mixes. What was left was zero, yes. That’s what I earned from a song so big.”Also Read: ‘I was not able to work at all’: Tanishk Bagchi recalls two-year battle with depression at Chetak Screen Awards 2026“What hurts the most is that, as per the royalty statement, I’m yet to receive just Rs 8 lakhs in royalties for a song that has gone on to do millions of streams and views across platforms. Honestly, for the amount of work, time, and passion I put into this song, Rs 8 lakhs feels like peanuts. I genuinely believed a song that reached this scale would have earned much more. I’m not writing this for sympathy. I’m writing this because I know what I put into this song, and I know the sacrifices I made to bring it to life… This experience has changed the way I look at this industry. From now on, I’ll only work with producers and directors who value creativity, honesty, and the people who build their music,” Tanishk added in his note. View this post on Instagram A post shared by SCREEN (@ieentertainment) He further reflected on his experience in the film and stated, “One thing I’ve also learned is that sometimes you give people your everything, and when success comes, they forget who stood by them. Anyway, I leave the rest to God. Time tells every story, and karma settles every account. The only person I respect in this whole film is @mohitsuri, because of him I did this film, and @irshadkamilofficial.”Soon after Tanishk’s post grabbed attention, YRF also issued a statement. In their statement, YRF’s official spokesperson wrote, “Saiyaara title track was a beautiful collaboration between three composers (Tanishk Bagchi, along with Faheem Abdullah and Arslan Nizami). We are deeply thankful for their brilliance in creating a timeless song that has touched a million hearts. Royalties for the title track have been shared and will continue to be shared by YRF equally between all three composers as contractually agreed by all, including Tanishk. YRF has paid every collaborator their due, as per contract, all within mutually agreed terms & time.”Amaal Mallik reacts to Tanishk-YRF Royalties RowAmidst the ongoing discussion, Amaal Mallik has commented on the matter. Thought not directly referring to it, Amaal wrote, “People in the music industry are waking up 10 years too late. Where were you in 2015 when I was fighting the system alone?” This isn’t the first time Amaal has spoken about the issue of royalties in the music industry. In March, Amaal Mallik had told Zoom, “There is a royalty system implemented from 2020. Javed Akhtar sahab fought very hard for it. An actor feels that if they are standing in a song, the song will be a hit. That is only 50% true. The rest 50% credit goes to the lyric writer, music composer, director, and lastly to the singer.People in the music industry waking up 10 years too late 勞路♂️Where were you in 2015 when I was fighting the system alone :) pic.twitter.com/x8bjPxT7Lx— Amaal Mallik (@AmaalMallik) July 19, 2026‘Got Rs 8 lakh for a song that made Rs 65 cr’“Music producers don’t have the right to their songs, but in the West, that category also has rights to the song. As an Indian system, we are very much behind the West. Like for the song, Sooraj Dooba Hai, I got Rs 8 lakh, and I gave everything in that. I had to run my house, make this song. It would have taken Rs 10 lakh max. The song was made in Rs 8-10 lakh. My understanding is that, on average, in the last 12 years, the song has made Rs 65 crore. I had reviewed this 7 years back. Now, it would have made Rs 100 crore. Now, the song, which was made in Rs 10 lakh, has earned Rs 100 crore, and what they would have given us was Rs 15-20 lakh. This includes everything – the engineer, the place, the food – everything, but not royalty.”Story continues below this adAlso Read | ‘With 37 billion views, they think I own a jet’: Tanishk Bagchi reveals the ‘unfair’ reality of zero royalties in BollywoodIn February, Tanishk had also called the economics of the Hindi music industry unfair. In a conversation with Faridoon, he had said, “PR is very essential here. Even after you have done good work, you need to spend money to promote your work. Lots of musicians can’t afford that. You need money for all of this. You need a system to support your passion, but that doesn’t exist here. In the West, everyone, from the sound engineer to the songwriter, even if there is a team of 5 people, all are getting royalties. So financially, they are very stable. Here, you get paid once, and then it’s over.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Faridoon Shahryar (@ifaridoon) “There are so many musicians, instrumentalists, they also contribute so much to a song, so they also deserve to have royalties, like we are getting or how the lyric writers are getting. That is a little unfair, but I am hopeful that the good times are coming.” Talking about the success of Saiyaara Title Track, Tanishk had said, “I think I have around 37 billion views only on YouTube, and streaming must be just as much. I don’t know the exact number. If I say that number outside of India, people get scared. They think I must have a jet.”