Fans claim Marvel web series Moon Knight’s background theme is ‘way too similar’ to Mahabharat title track

For the second time in a week, Indian film fans have accused a Marvel property of stealing–or at least getting inspired from–an Indian counterpart. This time, a video on Reddit claims that the background music of Marvel’s ongoing Disney+ series Moon Knight is eerily similar to the 2013 TV series Mahabharat, which aired on Star Plus. Ironically, both the series are streaming in India on Disney+ Hotstar. Also read: With Moon Knight, Marvel is perfecting the dark and gritty; and it’s time DC took notes

A video posted on Reddit played two clips, one from the second episode of Moon Knight, and one from the title track of Mahabharat, emphasising on how similar the music is. The video was captioned, “Marvel’s moon knight’s bgm is way similar to Mahabharat theme.”

Many fans noted that the similarities are indeed apparent. One fan commented, “Wondering if it’s copied or rights were taken.” Another replied, “That Mahabharat theme is still superior.” One user commented that this is a standard practice which may even be legal. “Many a times, makers tend to use filler music called temp music and recreated/imitated music pieces just within legal limits as part of BGM. Marvel has history of doing it,” their comment read.

The background score for Moon Knight has been composed by Hesham Nazih and as per Marvel, it is an original score composed for the series. The show stars Oscar Isaac as the titular hero and is part of the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. The 2013 Mahabharat, based on the popular Hindu epic, was created by Siddharth Kumar Tewary, and aired from 2013-14. The title track, Hai Katha Sangram Ki, was composed by Ajay-Atul.

A few days ago, a member of the same subreddit had posted a side-by-side comparison of a scene from Marvel film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Ranveer Singh-starrer Bajirao Mastani. There too, the two scenes had a lot of similarities, ranging from similar camera angles to action elements. One fan commented on the two similarities and joked that this was a sign of Indian entertainment industry’s progress. Their comment read, “Pehle Ranveer to Shang Chi, aur ab ye. Mera India badal Raha hai. Tarakki kar Raha hai. (First Ranveer to Shang Chi and now this. My India is changing. It is progressing).”

Moon Knight premiered on March 30, and is scheduled to run for six episodes until May 4. It is part of Phase Four of the MCU and has received positive reviews.