Sunny Deol hadn’t featured in the 'Kudiyan Shaher Diyan' track from his film Arjun Pandit (1999). Eighteen years later, Deol will now be part of the song which has been recreated for his film Poster Boys.
Penned by Javed Akhtar, the original was crooned by Daler Mehndi and Alka Yagnik, and brothers Dilip and Sameer Sen had scored the music. Like Sunny, Mehndi, too, returns for the remake. However, we don’t see Mehndi dancing in the new video. Instead, it is Deol who springs a surprise.
Dancing has never been Sunny's forte, and often his feeble attempts have ended up giving viewers a good laugh.
In a rare display, Sunny seems to be at ease while dancing in the 'Kudiyan Shaher Diyan' remake. To be honest, Deol doesn’t have too many steps, but his jig is simply entertaining and amusing in a good way. The moment Elli Avram winks at Sunny, the seasoned actor breaks into an innocent and gorgeous smile. At 50, Sunny has the look of an 18-year-old.
Sunny saves the best for the last, striking the classic Marilyn Monroe pose, in his traditional kurta-pyjama! Take a bow Sunny paaji.
Bobby Deol and Shreyas Talpade do their parts too. Talpade is perhaps the most energetic of the three male dancers, but this track just belongs to Sunny.
The core lyrics ‘Oye Ho Kudiyan ye Hoye, Ke Kudiyan Shaher Diyan' have been retained, but Shabbir Ahmed has added quite a few new lyrics, with Neha Kakkar getting the best share of the new words. If one compares the old and the new lyrics, then Ahmed has managed to give a fresh spin to the ramake.
Tanishk Bagchi is known for remakes, and most of them aren’t great — 'Tamma Tamma Again' from Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017) and 'The Humma Song' from OK Jaanu (2017). Bagchi seems to have got it right with the 'Kudiyan Shehar Di' remake.
Thankfully, there is no rap like we saw in the two songs mentioned above. Bagchi retains the core essence of the original score. He has scored some peppy tunes especially in the intro. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the new scores outshines the original that was a bit too loud.
Speaking of loud, Mehndi has one of the loudest voices, but he has toned down for the remake. For a second, you even wonder whether the voice in the remake is Mehndi’s. Which one has Mehndi sung better — old or new? It doesn’t matter as he has both to his credit.
Neha Kakkar has a unique voice that is apt for such numbers. Her voice suits perfectly to the dancers on the track she sings for. Avram makes you want to groove to the song.
In a nutshell, the 'Kudiyan Shehar Di' song has all the makings of a chartbuster. Watch both the songs below.