Late on April 7, 2020, T-Series released a track titled "Masakali 2.0"; an electronic dance track recreated from the A.R. Rahman composed "Masakali" for the 2009 feature film Delhi 6. The recreated version and the musician credited for the same, Tanishk Bagchi quickly became the victim of online trolls and criticism. The musician in question is not new to such trolling as he has been associated with multiple remakes of popular songs which have also been poorly received by listeners. However, the recently released song has garnered criticism from the musicians associated with the original along with the trolls on the social media. The most prominent comment coming from the original composer A.R. Rahman, could very well be argued as an indirect dig at the remake [Sharma, 2020]. The statement describing the original soundtrack as a collaboration between film technicians aimed to last generations; reminds me of a lyric from Rahman's Nazrein Milana song - "Kahin Pe Nigaahen, Kahin Pe Nishaana".
The original Masakali penned by Prasoon Joshi and sung by Mohit Chauhan is a playful, addictive melody with an interplay of melodica riffs, string runs and a peppy beat. The lyrics although crooned nonchalantly by Mohit Chauhan provide wonderful and deep metaphors linking the character to a pigeon to express ideas of liberation, empowerment and freedom from societal conditions. The track is an example of how music performs the function of subtext in Indian films. An instant chartbuster at the time of release, the entire album found more appreciation than the film's central theme.
The remake Masakali 2.0 reprogrammed with altered lyrics by Tanishk Bagchi is a duet, sung by Tulsi Kumar and Sachet Tandon. The main verse melody and the lyrics function as a flirty exchange between the characters from the film Marjaavan (2019) in a track that primarily uses synth stabs, sampled drum beats and a flute motif. The structure remains faithful to the electronic dance music genre it is trying to emulate and offers neither variety in arrangement nor depth in lyrics unlike the original. It is interesting to note that the song has been released almost 6 months post the release of the film (unusual in the Indian Film Industry) and the intention of the track appears to serve only as promotional material for the film's digital release on streaming platforms. The song in line with the film has also been received poorly by listeners and critics while trying to cash in on the original song and composer's popularity.
Personally, the trolling of the composer Tanishk Bagchi seems unwarranted and quite harsh. The composer who has become quite popular with remakes of iconic songs has in fact claimed previously that he is not very keen on doing remakes but finds the process to be creatively engaging enabling him to learn from the arrangement of the original [Deb, 2017]. The musician's journey from doing ad-jingles to featuring as a composer on Hindi Film Industry's top movies has been quite fascinating. In his 5 year journey in films, he has worked with the top tier musicians across the country with 2019 being one of his most successful year with 18 movies to his credit. His reputation with remakes began with the controversial track "The Humma Song" from the 2017 movie OK Jaanu. Featuring rap artist Badshaah, the track was a remake of Rahman's Tamil language song "Humma Humma" from the movie Bombay (1995). The track was received with mixed responses; fans of the original panning the treatment of the remake and the rising digital streaming sites lapping up the dance track. Ironically, it was A.R. Rahman himself who approached Tanishk Bagchi to recreate the song [Goyal, 2017].
Although at first glance, Rahman's reaction seems to be in line with most listeners and his opinions on remaking popular songs from his soundtracks seem valid; the composer's repertoire is filled with examples of combining influences from Indian and Western music genres. In the beginning of his career, the criticism largely revolved around his modern treatment of popular Indian classical scales and melodies. This could very well be argued as a remake during the time period being discussed. The stylised arrangements, influences from world music and the use of digital instruments were all features introduced by Rahman in the early days of his career. Paraphrasing a personal interaction with my classical vocal teacher, the use of Indian Classical scales (ragas) in cinema was considered as an insult to the devotional nature of the musical genre. This opinion is very similar to the one being made against Tanishk Bagchi for engaging in remaking a song adored by many.
Opinions on any piece of music are subjective and music as an art-form will never conform to one single judgement (good/bad). Even though the Humma song was widely criticised, the ratio of likes to dislikes on Youtube are ( 1 Million Likes to 100k Dislikes) and almost all the recreated versions by Tanishk Bagchi have found millions of digital streams and views, directly discrediting the validity of his critics. The rise of remakes in the Hindi Film Industry especially the dance music remakes closely mirror the DJ remixes/alternate mixes for popular music in the western music world. It is an evolution of music styles and the function of music in films we are witnessing currently in the Indian film industry. Songs used to be musical breaks or vehicles to carry the narrative forward in the history of Indian cinema. Currently, there are many examples of songs being used as promotional content to bring the audiences to watch the film. Most of these promotional songs do not appear in the narrative of the film and are used strategically to drive the film's popularity. The biggest example of this is once again witnessed in Rahman's Academy Award winning Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack. "Jai Ho", the Academy Award winner for Best Original Song appeared in the climax of the film serving as an anthem reflecting the theme of the film. Other examples are "Lungi Dance", "Bang Bang", "Kaala Chashma" to name a few.
Tanishk Bagchi's discography and popularity is largely driven by his recreated songs and they have proven to bring in the audience whether widely accepted or criticised. The popular opinion of the recreated versions although largely negative, does not change the fact that it is subjective. It could be argued that the numbers are irrelevant to the quality of the product. However, in a commercial entertainment industry we are part of today, the number of likes, followers, streams, views hold more value than subjective/critical opinion. The real winner of this situation is T-Series, the music label that holds the rights for both the original and the recreated "Masakali", cashing in on the debate between the need and existence of recreated versions of iconic songs. The future of songs, their function in movies and their contribution to the commerce of the film industry is evolving and whether you agree or disagree, Tanishk Bagchi (like Rahman in 90s) and other remake artists will hold a significant value in its evolution.
References:
Deb, 2017 : https://www.hindustantimes.com/music/i-actually-never-wanted-to-remake-a-song-tanishk-bagchi/story-nTrWJPhu5Zi35wLpcVEg1I.html
Goyal, 2017: https://m.hindustantimes.com/music/ar-rahman-i-wasn-t-happy-with-the-idea-of-a-new-humma-humma-initially/story-na4B7JlsSYtmaorMWNwRgJ_amp.html
Sharma, 2020: https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/ar-rahmans-measured-response-to-masakali-2-0-acknowledges-an-era-where-original-music-and-remixes-must-coexist-8243561.html
