Bollywood classic hit songs – Rehashed and remixed in 2017

Now it’s the latest trend in Bollywood music. Nowadays we hear a lot, remixed versions of evergreen Bollywood songs. Earlier it was only a trend in Indipop since 1990s. We have also seen one movie, ‘Dil Vil Pyar Vyar’, a tribute to R. D. Burman’s music. But it’s not the case now, it’s definitely an over doze of old chartbusters, adding extra flavours, and instruments are too heavy to handle in most cases. Most of these songs are rehashed as dance numbers or item songs. I am not sure if it’s a healthy trend. But surely its get quick attention of music lovers, after all ‘Old is always gold’! ‘Old vine in new bottle’ is one of the oldest formulae Bollywood has experimented always, either in film script or music, and it will always remain so as long as film industry exists.

Rework on old classics and present it before youngsters, definitely brings two generations close together. But is it really worth to watch in new version, and how long this trend is to stay, we need to wait and watch. Year 2017 has witnessed so many classic songs in the remixed and revived versions. Unlike earlier, songs of 1980s and 1990s too have joined the season. So let us see which old evergreen classics join with us this season. Have a look.

Kehdoo Tumhe/Socha Hai – The original classic song belonged to 1975 blockbuster Deewar featuring Shashi Kapoor and Neethu Singh. R. D. Burman composed this popular tune. The new version from the movie, Baadshaho was added by composer Tanishk Bagchi. Bagchi had a good year till now, and he recreated many popular tunes of yesterday like Tamma Tamma & Humma Humma and most importantly, “Mere Rashke Qamar” – the biggest hit of the year. All these songs received millions of views in YouTube. Original version of the song was sung by Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle, and new version by Jubin Nautiyal and Neeti Mohan. Manoj Muntashir added some extra lyrics to the song originally written by great Sahir Ludhianvi. Asha Bhosle’s original rendering was also included in the promotional version.

Mere Rashke Qamar – As told above, the movie Baadshaho included two revived versions of old classics. Though Mere Rashke Qamar is not a Bollywood song, it’s an evergreen ghazal-qawwali written by lyricist Fana Buland Shehri and composed by legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The song first sung in 1988 was recreated for the film by Tanishk Bagchi, who used Nusrat’s voice too for the rehashed version.

The new version was song by Nusrat’s own nephew, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan who sang for a Bollywood film after a short break following 2016 Uri attack controversy. Rahet has popularised this iconic song through many concerts before. The song was revived in many versions in the recent times, with many music videos. Yet the song with Nusrat & Rahat’s voice from Baadshaho ranks best. No doubt, Mere Rashke Qamar is the no: 1 Bollywood song in 2017 up-to-date hitting millions of views on YouTube.

Laila O Laila –Sunny Leone swung into the groove for Raees for the item song of Raees. The song originally belongs to 1980 blockbuster, Qurbani featuring Zeenat Aman, and playback singing was done by Kanchan. Also read: Less-heard female voices of 1970s and 1980s. Laila Oh Laila was a trailblazing chartbuster of 1980, which became a trendsetter and Bollywood marked the beginning era of discos and heavy music. New version was sung by Pawni Pandey. Lyrics were penned by Indeevar and Javed Akhtar, music composed by Kalyanji-Anandji. This particular song was revived by Ram Sampath for Raees.

Humma Humma – I think it’s for the first time an A. R. Rahman tune rehashed for a new film, where he is assigned the role of music composer. The original version from Bombay released in 1995 is terrifically brilliant, and it was an item song featuring Sonali Bendre, and also Manisha Koirala and Arvind Swamy as spouses. Also read: Top 10 item songs of Rahman.

The new version from OK Janu also owns a romantic treatment, featuring the lead pair Aditya Roy Kapoor and Shradha Kapoor. Its song filming, singing and everything were well received. Music was revived by Badshah and Tanishk Bagchi, and Jubin Nautiyal and Shashaa Tirupati are the lead voices. Voices of Rahman, Badshah and Tanishk Bagchi were also used in background, Badshah wrote the additional rap lyrics. One interesting fact – Rahman sang the original Tamil version of Humma Humma, long back in1995. Mehmood penned lyrics.

Saara Zamana – The original version belongs to Amitabh Bachchan starrer Yaarana in 1981, and the new version in Hrithik Roshan starrer Kaabil. It’s an item song featuring Urvashi Rautela was sung by Raftaar and Payal Dev. In fact music of both Kaabil and Yaarana were composed by Rajesh Roshan. The music director also included one of his most popular tracks from 1970s – Dil Kya Kare in Kaabil. Original versions of both these solos were sung by Kishore Kumar. Also read: Top 50 solos sung by Kishore Kumar. Anjaan penned the lyrics of Saara Zamana, and additional lyrics for Kaabil were written by Kumaar.

Dil Kya Kare – As told above, Rajesh Roshan used two of his very popular songs of yesterdays for his recent work Kaabil. Rajesh Roshan won his first Filmfare awards for Dil Kya Kare, and this popular Kishore Kumar romantic track was a huge chartbuster those days. Anand Bakshi penned its beautiful lyrics. Original version featured Lakshmi & Vikram, and the new promotional song starred Hrithik Roshan and Yami Gautham.

Koi Fariyaad –The sequel of Tum Bin couldn’t win the hearts of film buff. This beautiful ghazal sung by Jagjit Singh was reused for Tum Bin 2, adding the voice of Rekha Bhardwaj. A few lines in Jagjit Singh’s original voice was also incorporated, a unique experience! Nikhil-Vinay composed the music of original version, while Ankit Tiwari revived it. Faaiz Anwar penned the lyrics.

Hare Krishna Hare Ram – This very popular Burman da composition from Hare Rama Hare Krishna, sung by Asha has been remixed several times for movies as well as private albums. As far as revived version in films is considered, the first one was released in 2007 for Bhool Bhulayya featuring Akshay Kumar, which invited a lot of controversies as well. The second version belonged to the film ‘Dum Maro Dum’ released in 2011, and it’s the first item song (cameo role) of Deepika Padukone in Bollywood. The film title was coined from this iconic version too.

Hare Krishna Hare Ram’s latest version belongs to Commando 2, and the song featured Vidyut Jamwal and Esha Gupta, and is in fact a rehashed version of the dance number from Bhool Bhulayya composed by Pritham, not the original one. The song was recreated by Gourov-Roshin, and additional lyrics provided by Kumaar. Armaan Malik, Raftaar and Ritika revived the song, while ‘Bhool Bhulayya’ version was sung by Neeraj Shridhar. Sameer penned the lyrics.

Gulabi Aankhen – This R. D. Burman composition of early 1970s sung by Mohammed Rafi was rehashed and used for Sonakshi Sinha starrer Noor in 2017. And the song is sung by none other than the legendary singer’s biggest fan and sensational voice of present generation, Sonu Nigam, in a retro mix version as a tribute to his biggest singing inspiration. 

Raabta – It’s for the second time after Dum Maro Dum, Deepika Padukone made a special appearance for a song, reviving some old music. Though Raabta from Agent Vinod featuring real-life couple Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone is not so old, it definitely deserves mention in this list. The song also fetched millions of views on YouTube. The new version was included as the title track of Raabta, and the song also featured the lead pair, Sushant Rajput Singh and Kriti Sanon. Original music was composed by Pritam and lyrics penned by Amitabh Bhattacharya. Original version was sung by Hamsika Iyer, Joi Barua and Arijit Singh, and the revived version by Arijit Singh & Nikhita Gandhi.

The movie’s top song, “Main Tera Boyfriend” is also not a fresh track. In fact it’s a revived version of J. Star’s 2015 single “Na Na Na Na“, originally written by Kumaar and composed Sohrabuddin and Sourav Roy. The new version is sung by Arijit Singh, Neha Kakkar & Meet Bros.

Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas – The original version composed by Kalyanji-Anandji is truly amazing and regarded as one of the finest solo tracks ever. Also read: Top 30 music albums of Kalyanji-Anandji & 50 Top hits of Kishore Kumar. The original version sung by Kishore Kumar featured Dharmendra and Rakhee Gulzar, and has been reused several times for private albums and this time for the movie, Wajah Tum Ho. But sad to say, this version miserably failed. In fact none of these versions could recreate Kishore magic. Abhijit Vaghani recreated the song penned by Rajendra Kishan and sung by Arijit Singh and Tulsi Kumar.

The movie also included two more hit songs – one in the classic era, and the second one in the recent times. “Aise Na Mujhe Tum Dekho” (1977 film Darling Darling starring Zeenat Aman & Dev Anand) and “Maahi Ve” (2002 film Kaante featuring Malaika Arora) were revived for Wajah Tum Ho.

Tamma Tamma Loge – Original version from the film Thanedaar is best remembered for the stunning dance sequences performed by Madhuri Dixit and Sanjay Dutt. Song was composed by Bappi Lahri, who did playback singing aside Anuradha Paudwal. Indeevar penned the lyrics. A revived version was used for Badrinath Ki Dulhania featuring Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan, retaining the original voices. Badshah’s voice was also used. The song was recreated by Tanishk Bagchi who had a great 2017 up-to-date and the dance number went rage among the youngsters. The song was enough to bring some nostalgic moments of 1990s. Tamma Tamma is definitely one of the most celebrated remixes of the year 2017.

Raat Baaki – The movie Ittefaq itself is a revived version of classic hit of late 1960s with the same name, starring Rajesh Khanna and Nanda. Though the original version didn’t include any song, its remake reused the very popular dance number, Raat Baaki from the film Namak Halal starring Parveen Babi, Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan. It’s the only track for the entire film. Tanishk Bagchi revived the song, who contributed a little bit to its lyrics too, aside Groot. The new version was recorded in the voices of Nikhita Gandhi and Jubin Nautiyal. Original version was composed by Bappi Lahiri, who sang the song aside Asha Bhosle. Anjaan penned the original lyrics.

Tu Cheez Badi Hai – This 1994 song from Mohra featuring Akshay Kumar and Raveena Tandon was indeed ‘cheesy’ when got released, and the most popular dance track of the year among youngsters. The lead pair – Akshay Kumar and Raveena Tandon were dating that time. This evergreen chartbuster hit was reused for Machine featuring debutant Mustafa Burmawalla and Kiara Advani. Though the song couldn’t recreate the magic and amazing chemistry between Akshay Kumar and Raveena Tandon 20 years back, the song became popular among youngsters. Viju Shah composed the music album, and lyrics were penned by Anand Bakshi. The song was sung by Kavita Krishnamurthy and Udit Narayan, and inspired from popular qawwali Dam Mast Qalandar by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast was revived for Machine and some additional lyrics were added by Shabbir Ahmed. Udit Narayan’s voice was reused while Kavitha’s voice was replaced by Neha Kakkar. It’s indeed nice to hear the beautiful voice of Udit Narayan after a long time. The film was a complete washout. But the movie will be remembered for a while for this popular remix version. The movie also included a rehashed version of evergreen classic comedy song, Chatur Naar originally composed by R. D. Burman for Padosan in 1966.

Oonchi Hai Building and Tan Tana Tan – Judwaa starring Salman Khan, Karishma Kapoor and Ramba was a blockbuster in 1997. Exactly 20 years after its release, its new rebooted version starring the director’s own son Varum Dhawan is set to release. The film is titled Judwaa 2 and includes many of the peppy numbers originally composed by Anu Malik. Remixed versions of Oonchi Hai Building and Tan Tana Tan are currently the talk of the town, and are already huge chartbusters. Jacqueline Fernandez and Taapsee Pannu play female leads this time. Dev Kohli penned both these songs.

Original version of Oonchi Hai Building was sung by Anu Malik and Poornima, and new version is sung by the composer himself aside Neha Kakkar. Original version of Chalti Hai Kya 9 Se 12 was sung by Abhijeet and Poornima, and new version by Dev Negi and Neha Kakkar. Poornima has been replaced by Neha Kakkar in both these songs.

Meine Tujhko Dekha – Recent song to enter this list is Meine Tujhko Dekha from the fourth installment of Golmaal series – Golmaal Again. It’s actually a song recreated from Anu Malik’s version of Neend Churayi Meri, from the film Ishq, and interestingly Ajay Devgan is a part of both these songs, though there is a long gap of 20 years between these two songs. Ajay has not changed too much, and his co-stars Aamir Khan, Kajol and Juhi have been replaced by Tabu, Parineeti Chopra, Arshad Warsi and a few more. My ten-year old daughter who regularly listens to new Bollywood songs says, she gets the glimpses of “Kehdo Tumhe” (Remix) in this song. It’s up to you to think and find, if she is right or not. Was Anu Malik inspired from Deewar song while composing Ishq?

Hawa Hawai – Tumhari Sulu and Vidya Balan gave a true tribute to India’s most popular female star ever, Sri Devi by recreating her most popular dance number of Mr. India, released exactly 20 years back. The song was titled Hawa Hawai 2.0 originally composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal was recreated by music composer Bagchi. Javed Akhtar penned the lyrics, and the original voice of Kavitha Krishnamurty was also retained. Additional vocals were provided by Shashaa Tirupati.

Zindagi Meri Dance Dance – I would like to conclude this list by this club song from Daddy. You might be surprised why I include this song in the list. Actually, this song which brings back disco memories of 1980s has some similarities of a couple of songs and looks like a rehashed version. That’s why I included in the list, personal choice. The mukhda is heavily inspired from the dance number pictured on Mumtaz – Zindagi Ittefaq Hai from the movie, Aadmi Aur Insaan released in 1969. The song was composed by Ravi and solo version sung by Asha Bhosle. It also had a duet version by Asha and Rafi.

Somewhere I also got glimpses of Kishore Kumar’s Intihaa Ho Gayi from Sharabi composed by Bappi Lahiri. I read somewhere Zindagi Meri Dance Dance was originally composed by Bappi Da in the 1980s from Mithun da’s film, Dance Dance, but not used for the film. The new version was sung by Vijay Benedict and Alisha Chinai, and composed by Bappi Lahiri. Aishwarya Rajesh and Arjun Rampal were featured in the new version.

The list is still incomplete. 2017 is not over yet. I shall add more songs, once they got released. Just check this space once in a while.