‘Original singers of Nasha thanked me for putting their song in the film’
Music composer Tanishk Bagchi as well as the music record label have been facing flak for “recreating” and “ruining” another popular song. Case in point: Nasha. But the remake’s composer asks, “If recreations give exposure to independent artistes and put them in the limelight, what’s the harm in doing it?”
Bagchi goes on, “Log jaante hi nahin hain ki kisne gaaya hai wo gaana (Amar Jalal and Faridkot). However, recreating the song and picturising it on (actor) Ayushmann Khurrana and (actor-dancer) Nora Fatehi will help the original singers gain recognition. We are simply becoming a window through which these people can enter the mainstream.”
Giving an example of another song, Manike, Bagchi says, “We did a recreation of Manike for Ajay Devgn’s film Thank God, and it was a bigger hit than the original song. It also helped its artiste, Yohani, who is an independent singer, get her due. So, if recreation is helping an artiste, why shouldn’t we do it?”
As far as the decision to recreate this particular song is concerned, the Raataan Lambiyan ( Shershaah, 2021) composer says it was not his call: “The filmmaker and the original singers collaboratively took the decision to work on this track, and I was included much later when they asked for my help with the composition. And since it’s not my track, I have not made many changes to it. In fact, after reworking the composition, I sent it to the original singers, and they really loved it. They thanked me for putting their song in the film and said, ‘We want people to know that it’s our song’.” Bagchi, who has worked on several recreations, including O Saki Saki and Dilbar, doesn’t see any harm in it because everyone gets the credit as well as the money: “I make it a point that the original singers get credit and royalties. Like with Jehda Nasha, we ensured that the original singers got to sing it. Had we made another artiste sing it, the criticism would’ve been valid.”