There are certain songs that we can listen to over and over again, those you only need to hear the first few seconds and instantly recognise.
This is true for music lovers across genres but more so for Bollywood music fans, this explains why many Bollywood films have given new life to many classic songs with remixes.
Remixes are often controversial as some take the stance that it’s a classic for a reason, why change what already works?
It’s a valid point but as the music industry changes and develops there’s no harm in tweaking a few classics in order to make them more lively and current.
Here’s a list of five of Bollywood’s best music remixes.
Aankh Marey – Simmba (2018)
The Rohit Shetty directorial promised mammoth masala and energy with his star actors Ranveer Singh and Sara Ali Khan commanding the silver screen.
However, one thing audiences did not anticipate was the ‘Aankh Marey’ remix which has dominated Bollywood playlists globally.
The original song was created for the film, ‘Tere Mere Sapne’ (1996) and was sung by Kumar Sanu and Kavita Krishnamurthy.
The original song was picturised to Arshad Warsi who also gave a cameo in this remix video.
The remix is extremely lively and catchy, with Neha Kakkar, Mika Singh and Kumar Sanu lending their voices to the song.
The song was declared a smash hit, and one group even crafted a flash mob to the remix in New York. The remix has been viewed 327 million times on YouTube.
Aashiq Banaya Aapne – Hate Story IV (2018)
This provocative and female rendition of the original ‘Aashiq Banaya’ song has been extremely popular.
The song was originally sung by Himesh Reshammiya for the 2005 movie ‘Aashiq Banaya Aapne’.
The remix brought vocals in by female singer Neha Kakkar and Himesh Reshammiya to draw in the original song’s feeling.
The song has been viewed over 419 million times on YouTube and is picturised to actress Urvashi Rautela.
The remix steers away from the more instrumental techniques of the original and focuses more on the beat.
Both songs have a sensual undertone to them, with this more recent remix intensifying that sentiment.
Dilbar – Satyameva Jayate (2018)
Sushmita Sen first made history with her intensity in the picturisation of ‘Dilbar’ in the film, ‘Sirf Tum’ (1999).
The remix however has a more hypnotic and arabian feeling to it. Neha Kakkar, Kundan Pandey and Dhvani Bhanushali lend their vocals to create this remix.
The original song’s vocalist was Alka Yagnik, this remix moves away from the melodic sound of this 90s classic.
The song was presented as an ‘item number’ in the movie ‘Satyameva Jayate’ (2018) and was picturised with Nora Fatehi displaying her belly dancing ability, hence the more lively beat to this song.
This remix has inspired many recreations of the dance and the song has been viewed on YouTube over 419 million times.
Laila Main Laila – Raees (2016)
The original source for this song came from the Bollywood classic ‘Qurbani’ (1980) and was picturised to the stunning Zeenat Aman.
The remix of this song arrived with the release of Shahrukh Khan’s film ‘Raees’ (2017).
‘Laila Main Laila’ was picturised to Sunny Leone and has been viewed 357 million times, making it Shahrukh Khan’s most viewed song on YouTube.
While the remix retains the playful nature of its original inspiration, this song was crafted to be a dance anthem and is much faster and energetic.
The original song was sang by Amit Kumar and Kanchan, with more of a disco beat and tone to it.
The remix is far more infectious with singer Pawni Pandey injecting a more current and deeper sound into the song.
Yeh Mera Dil – Don (2006)
In a time where remixes were less common, Farhan Akhtar dared to embrace the old and give it new life.
Remakes were also uncommon for this time period, but Akhtar was determined to bring the essence of the ’70s classic film, ‘Don’ into the new millennium.
When it came to music the makers had a variance of new songs with some of the original movie songs also being remixed, one of which was, ‘Yeh Mera Dil’.
The original song was made infamous by the talented actress Helen in 1978, for the remake Kareena Kapoor was tasked with matching the original song’s iconic status.
This remix has a more electro sound, with singer, Sunidhi Chauhan on vocals. But it still carries the essential drama and melody of the original, which was sang by, Asha Bhosle at the time.
It certainly achieved its goal of delivering the feeling of the ’70 classic while making it more appealing to younger audiences.
With 6.8 million views on YouTube, it isn’t the most popular remix.
However, without this attempt and others like it, there wouldn’t have been the path for composers to produce all the other remixes we now love and cherish.
