What are the adjectives you would associate with Bollywood songs in 2017? Original? Creative?
Well, consider a rethink.
Take Tamma Tamma Again from Badrinath ki Dulhania, for instance. No, it’s not borrowed straight from the 1990 film Thanedaar. Its origins are in fact, African. It was first composed by Mory Kante, an African musician.
Pakistani Export
The Arjun Kapoor smash hit Hawa Hawa from Mubarakan that has close to 74 million views on YouTube, is in fact a “tribute” to a popular 1990s Pakistani song (Hawa Hawa by Hasan Jahangir).
The popularity of its 2017 desi version is a refresher course in how our issues with consumption of “anything Paki” are only limited to Pakistani artists, and don’t cover ready-made Pakistani songs.
Brace Yourselves, Your Nostalgia is About to Get Polluted
You might faintly recall hearing a song from Golmaal Again – Maine Tujhko Dekha – that was another ‘tribute’ to a popular ‘90s song from the film Ishq.
Ah, the latter evokes such sweet, syrupy nostalgia in many millennials’ ears. That nostalgia however has a strong chance of being polluted, when you get to know that it was a rip-off of a song, Sending All My Love, by Linear.
The copy lobby of Bollywood never stops, does it?
At Least, Do A Good Job?
Some more popular songs of yesteryear were rehashed in an attempt to cater to the nostalgia economy: There was Hawa Hawai 2.0 in Tumhari Sulu, Mehbooba from Fukrey Returns, Chalti Hai Kya 9 se 12 in Judwaa 2, Ittefaq Se from Ittefaq, Mere Rashke Qamar from Baadshaho, among others. All were flat, blah, and heavily compromised with soulless EDM beats.
Considering how much money we spend on them, Bollywood should at least promise us some originality in 2018.
Camera: Athar Rathar
Editor: Ashish Maccune
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