Mumbai: Reality show Bigg Boss 19 has landed in legal trouble after Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) served a notice to its producers, accusing them of using copyrighted songs without securing proper licences.

According to a report by Mid-day India, the issue stems from the use of two popular Bollywood tracks – Chikni Chameli (Agneepath) and Dhat Tere Ki (Gori Tere Pyaar Mein) – in episode 11 of the show, which streamed on 3 September. PPL India alleges that Endemol Shine India, the production house behind the show, failed to obtain the mandatory public performance licence before using the songs.

The legal notice, dated 19 September and issued by advocate Hiten Ajay Wasan, names production house directors Thomas Gousset, Nicolas Chazarain, and Deepak Dhar as responsible parties. PPL maintains that both songs are licensed to Sony Music Entertainment India and that their public performance rights are administered exclusively by PPL.

“Endemol Shine India’s failure to obtain a licence under Section 30 of the Copyright Act, 1957, constitutes wilful infringement,” a legal source told Mid-day.

PPL is now demanding ₹2 crore in damages, in addition to the applicable licence fees. The organisation has also issued a cease-and-desist notice, barring the show’s producers from using its catalogue of sound recordings without proper authorisation.

As of now, neither Endemol Shine India nor streaming partner JioCinema has issued a response.

Bigg Boss 19

Hosted by Bollywood star Salman Khan, the 19th season of Bigg Boss revolves around the theme Gharwalon Ki Sarkaar, where housemates enjoy more control than the titular Bigg Boss himself.

The show witnessed its first double eviction last Sunday, with social media influencer Nagma Mirajkar and Polish actor Natalia Janoszek being voted out.

The current line-up of housemates includes Gaurav Khanna, Ashnoor Kaur, Nehal Chudasama, Baseer Ali, Zeishaan Quadri, Neelam Giri, Tanya Mittal, Awez Darbar, Kunickaa Sadanand, Farhana Bhatt, and Shehbaz Badesha.

Bigg Boss 19 streams daily at 9 PM on JioCinema and airs at 10:30 PM on Colors TV.