Abhay Deol takes on T-Series, sports black eye to protest unfair practices

On the night of Screen Awards 2014, Abhay Deol flashed his dimpled smile and a blackened left eye on the red carpet as shutterbugs merrily clicked away. If anyone is wondering why Deol’s eye looks bruised and black as if he had taken a blow, he indeed has, or at least his upcoming film One By Two has from the giant record label T-series. Deol explained in a facebook post that he had  sported a black eye at the Screen Awards because he wanted to send the message across “visually and symbolically” that his upcoming film One By Two’s marketing has taken a hit and the film’s condition is exactly like his black eye because he as a producer of the film refused to follow the archaic and unjust conditions laid down by record label T-series. [caption id=“attachment_1341517” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Courtesy: Facebook. Abhay Deol waged a war against T-Series after the music giant refused to release the music of One By Two in the market.[/caption] One By Two is Deol ’s first film as a producer which is all set to release on 31 January. However, surprisingly the music of the film which is to be produced by T-series has not yet hit the market. Nor can you hear it on television or radio. According to Deol, it is a common practice that music labels like T-series expect musicians to sign a contract with a clause that is restrictive for the latter. However, it is the film’s producer’s responsibility to make the music composers of his film sign the said contract with the label which buys the rights of the music. As a producer, Deol felt that such a contract was illegal and limiting for the musicians and encouraged One By Two’s composers to not sign such an agreement. As a result, a miffed T-Series refused to promote and market the film’s music. With the lukewarm buzz around the film, Deol probably needed all the publicity he could get piggybacking its music. In a recent note posted on Facebook he said, “I am also against the exploitation of artists. " “I believe in their rights and even if a musician was ready to sign it, I would advise him/her against it. As a result, I have no album in the market. In fact now, I wouldn’t be surprised if the music company pulls out my promos from the TV channels. I don’t have radio play anyway.” said Deol. “So far, no producer or studio has taken on this record label. Me and Viacom have nothing more to lose, they have already killed any potential buzz the music could have created for the film had it been put up for sale weeks ago. At the moment I have the entire music fraternity behind me. Ram Sampat and Sona Mohapatra , Amit Trivedi, Vishal and Shekhar, Javed Akhtar and of course Shankar Ehsaan and Loy have all expressed their support,” he added. While he already has an army of musicians behind him to support his fight against T-series, he also hopes that producers, actors and studios will join him and help highlight this issue. He ended the note with the message that, “I hope my film will not suffer as a result. I believe in the power of the individual.”