‘I Haven’t Made Any Money From It’: 'Kala Chashma' Singer on Song Going Viral

The original song was sung by Amar Arshi and composed by Prem Hardeep and Kam Dhillon.

Amar Arshi originally composed and sang Kala Chashma in 1991.

(Image courtesy: Google / Edited by The Quint)

The global attention surrounding the Punjabi song Kala Chashma is something no one could have predicted. From Indian hotshots to Jimmy Fallon and Demi Lovato, people around the globe are grooving to the tunes of the hit song.

However, the original singer and the composers have reportedly missed out on any monetary gain from the viral sensation.

Amar Arshi, a London-based Punjabi singer recorded the original version of Kala Chashma in 1991.

Years later in 2016, Bollywood rapper Badshah and singer Neha Kakkar recreated it for the Siddharth Malhotra and Katrina Kaif starrer, Baar Baar Dekho.

In early 2022, Norway-based dance troupe, Quick Style popularized the remix, with the song globally trending on Tik Tok and Instagram Reels.

Speaking to Mint Amar said,

"I don’t think most of these people making dance videos to this song know that I sang it. For all the raula (buzz) this song has generated in recent weeks, I haven’t made any monetary gains from it. I can’t understand contracts written in English. I knew little about royalty as a concept back then. Further, I didn’t think the song will become this big".

AMAR ARSHI

Amar also opened up about not making any money from the virality of the song. The singer stated, "My son had been telling me it was all over the internet but I didn’t pay heed until two weeks ago when I started getting calls from some friends in the US, England, and Canada”, he told the publication.

He claimed that that even his compensation for the remix was limited to five figures and was nowhere close to matching the sensation that the song had created.