When Retro Tunes Took The Millennial Road

Time and again, we've witnessed our parents and grandparents rave about traditional cuisines and retro music. As the food-biz revolutionized quite a few staple recipes, Bollywood also began experimenting with popular tunes from the past. In no time, the entire music industry was smitten by this idea, and before we knew, the idea of repackaging old wines into new bottles became the new rage. BollyCurry visited the cellars and unravelled some notable romantic cases. Wine gets better with age, they said, but how well did the new strained ones turn out to be? Read on to know more.

The Fine Wines

"Har Kisi Ko" from Boss (2013) is the recreated version of a song by the same name from the late Sridevi-Feroz Khan starrer Janbaaz (1986). The former has two versions rendered by Nikhil D'Souza and Arijit Singh-Neeti Mohan, respectively. Composer Chirantan Bhatt brings in the calming element to the track, while retaining the signature strumming from the original. Another soothing rendition, "Gazab Ka Hai Din", made it to the chartbusters despite Dil Juunglee (2018) biting the dust. Though the premise remains the same, Jubin Nautiyal and Prakriti Kakar's vocals, Tanishk Bagchi's tempo, and Arafat's re-arrangement of the lyrics make it starkly different from the original in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988). However, we're not complaining about this one!

On the contrary, Raid (2018) revamped Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's "Sanu Ik Pal Chain Na Aavey", a composition emoting longing and separation. Bagchi used the parent melody and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's voice to create a fervently passionate piece, picturized on Ajay Devgn and Ileana D'cruz in the royal city of Lucknow.

The latest remix to join the bandwagon is "Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga" which instantly shot to fame due to the insightful subject it is associated with. Gurpreet Saini's Punjabi lyrics add a peppy element and set an exuberant mood around the soulful number. Singers Darshan Raval and Rochak Kohli, who is also the composer, have in the true sense, paid a tribute to 1942: A Love Story(1994) and its legendary music director, RD Burman.

The Sour Aromas

We understand it is difficult to keep one's hands off classics, but they're unarguably meant to be untouched, aren't they? Sadly, Bagchi took his reinvention spree on the off-side by producing "Socha Hai" and "Chalte Chalte" from Baadshaho (2017) and Mitron (2018), respectively. Claimed to be remixes without raps, these tracks clearly failed to leave a mark. They lacked composition and connect, such that the impassioned voices of Nautiyal and Atif Aslam seemed out of place.

Another fad that seems to be catching on of is musicians releasing revised versions of their own compositions, hoping to profit off past successes. One such example of why such attempts may not have very favourable outcomes is "Raabta" by Pritam in Raabta (2017). While the movie bombed at the box office, the track that featured Deepika Padukone garnered a lot of flak. The original "Raabta", composed by Pritam himself for Agent Vinod (2012) still remains a favourite amongst the youth, but he failed to recreate the magic when he refashioned the song. Similarly, when "Aashiq Banaya Aapne" released back in 2005, it emerged as the love anthem of year, marking the singing debut of Himesh Reshammiya and propelling him into instant fame. Recently, a rendition of the same by Neha Kakkar was created for Hate Story 4 (2018) converting it into a raunchy cabaret starring Urvashi Rautela. Both, the movie and the song, failed to strike a chord with audiences and critics alike.

For almost a century now, Bollywood has been serving us overcooked and oversized portions of love sagas; and it seems as if the future of the remix and remake culture is no different. It has transformed into an epidemic that is plaguing every album and almost every music composer's mind. We at BollyCurry hope that this one-sided shift does not indicate the end of originality in the industry. Did we miss out on any of your favourite or not so favourite remakes of love songs? Let us know in the comments below.

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