Last month, an Arijit Singh number, which was doing the rounds of social media, was touted to be a leaked song from the soundtrack of Aashiqui 3. The claim was found to be baseless soon after. The incident was probably the reason why producer Mukesh Bhatt issued a public notice in a trade magazine last week, stating that Vishesh Films is “the producer and joint rightful owner of the intellectual property rights and derivative rights” associated with the popular film franchise. The notice further stated that any communication related to the franchise made without the production house’s involvement would be considered fraudulent and may result in legal ramifications.

While Bhatt understands the anticipation around Kartik Aaryan-led Aashiqui 3, he is seeing red at the song fiasco. He says, “No song has been composed yet. How can it be leaked? It was important to issue the public notice as I am the copyright holder and the creative fountainhead of the Aashiqui franchise.”