R : Remixes in Hindi Films / Bollywood #AtoZChallenge 2019

In 2018, a movie called Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety released. The film was a commercial success. The soundtrack of the film was also super-hit. I personally liked a lot of songs in it because of their foot-tapping music. The music album of the film had 8 songs. And 4 out of them were remixes or recreated versions of hit songs from the past. I think remixes work when they are an improvement over the past work. I think they also work when really old songs are presented with a new sound. That makes these remixes relevant today. Like "Dil Chori" from the movie is a really good recreation, especially for party playlists. 

And as it happens with anything successful in Bollywood, there is a mad rush to remix songs. Herd mentality dictates. In March 2019, a movie called Luka Chuppi (Hide and Seek) released. The film is a commercial success. The same can't be claimed about the film's music though. Its music album has 5 songs. And hold your breath! Not even one song out of these 5 is an original composition. All 5 are remixes. In fact Wikipedia calls it a remix album. While I like some of the original songs which have been recreated for this film, I didn't like the versions in the film. The reasons were simple. The recreations were not improved versions of older songs. And some of the songs recreated were very recent, so bringing in a new sound is not that easy. So I share with you the video of the original song which I like a lot but the recreated version of the film really spoils it for me. Khaab is a Punjabi song by Akhil, which was remixed as Duniya in the movie.

While I believe that remixes should be done only when the situation in the film requires them, but if they must be done, I would prefer them to be done in a way that it enhances my auditory experience. But the trend of remixes is any day better than the trend of plagiarizing that plagued Bollywood once. It was so bad at one point of time, that Anu Malik plagiarized the original song Macarena twice. Listen to Dil Le Le Lena from the movie Auzaar and Dil Maka Dina from the film Dhaal. The compulsion to recreate a successful song led to really bad lyrics in both. I will prefer an official remix any day over this.

Which one is your favorite remix? Which according to you was the worst case of plagiarism in Hindi Film music?

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My theme for this year's #AtoZchallenge is Hindi Film Industry / Bollywood cliches. You can read the theme reveal post here.

2017 Challenge Post from Letter R: Robbed - My experiences with money. Click here to read.

2018 Challenge Post from Letter R: Recycle Bin - A post about memories one would like to delete. Click here to read.