Amitabh Bachchan makes another attribution gaffe involving poetry verse on Twitter, apologises to poet

In yet another episode involving non-attribution of a poetry verse to the original author, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan on Sunday apologised to a woman for sharing her poetry without giving her due credit.

He had posted the verse on his Twitter handle on December 24.

In response, the poet who had written the verse, Tisha Agarwal posted a message expressing her disappointment on not being given credit by Bachchan for her poetry. “Sir, it’s a matter of pride for me to see my poetry on your wall. My happiness and pride would have doubled had my name appeared on your wall. In anticipation of a reply from you,” she wrote.

Bachchan took to his social media page on Sunday evening to write, “Tisha ji, I’ve just been informed that one of my tweets that I had shared earlier was your poetry. I seek your forgiveness. I was not aware of this. Someone had sent this to me either on Twitter or WhatsApp. I liked it and decided to share. I seek your forgiveness.”

Amitabh Bachchan, who frequently shares poems written by his father Harivansh Rai Bachchan on social media, had made a made a similar gaffe in August when he shared a poem titled Akelepan Ka Bal Pehchaan, attributing it to his father. However, he later posted an apology and credited the right poet, Prasoon Joshi.

Prasoon Joshi is a poet, lyricist, screenwriter and marketer. He has won the National Award for best lyrics twice and his notable works include Bhaag Mikha Bhaag, Taare Zameen Par, Chittagong and Delhi 6. He is currently the head of the Central Board of Film Certification.