BMG had an exclusive contract with Channel [V] that the video would be premiered first on [V] at around 8 pm and then telecast on other channels after 9 pm. Instead, MTV apparently pulled a fast one by telecasting the song at around 4:40 pm, in the process mocking the contract and nullifying the raison d'etre of the party. "It was an unauthorised broadcast. Our instructions to MTV were specific," said Suresh Thomas, head of BMG-Crescendo. According to him, MTV claimed a "lack of communication", which has been rectified.

Niren Hero, head of marketing, MTV, insists that they were unaware of any contract between BMG and [V]."We had the video and we screened it. Our job is to promote artists, especially good ones like Silk Route," he said, adding that any contract violation was "unintentional".

But Mandar Thakur, head of music and artist relations, Channel [V], ridicules this claim. The chances that the video was aired `by mistake' are thin, as it carried an "exclusive" logo. "The exclusive bug has to be physically programmed. For that, you have to know what you are doing," he said. Thakur believes that the preemptive broadcast followed by the lame excuse is a case of "slapping and then saying sorry". He alleges that this is no isolated case. Apparently, since the last month, MTV has been telecasting many other music video with the "exclusive" bug, though they weren't exclusive, thus making a mockery of the term.

"They are conning viewers. And if this is also a mistake, then may be MTV should change its name to Mistake Television!" quipped Thakur. But Hero insists that the bug is put on every new video that comes to them,and Dooba Dooba was no exception.

Caught in the crossfire is BMG and Silk Route. Both channels claim that the band is excellent and they will do their best to promote it. But Thakur added that MTV has flouted the golden rule in the channel war: artists should never be dragged in. "It doesn't make business sense in the long run. Are they so hung up for videos that they could not wait?" he asked.

Ironically, the party was also attended by MTV bigwigs, and the fulcrum of the controversy, Silk Route, seemed least affected by the wranglings. "This will not detract us. At the end of the day, good music is what sells," said Paramjit Singh, the promoter of the band. After all, the real battle for music bands is in the music stores, not on the screen.