Remaking classic songs is not a crime, but except for a few commendable ones, many turn out to be feeble attempts. One of the criticisms against remixes over the last year or so has been that often music composers break the rhythm by unnecessarily incorporating poor rap.
Music composer Tanishk Bagchi himself was guilty of a few — 'Tamma Tamma Again' from Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017) and 'The Humma Song' from OK Jaanu (2017). Bagchi has not only made amends, but has proudly scored a ‘bina rap wala remix' (a remix without rap).'Socha Hai' is a remake of the Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle’s classic track 'Keh Doon Tumhe' from Deewar (1975). The original was penned by Sahir Ludhianvi and the music was scored by RD Burman.
Apart from no rap, there two notable things in the Baadshaho song — one, the remix is a whistling tribute to the original and two, the film is set in the Emergency era (1975-1977). Luthria has accordingly used the classic chroma to pull off a mobile track.
In the early days of Indian cinema, romantic tracks featured actors lip-synching in a vehicle, but it’s not the vehicle that's moving. The visuals here move in chroma. Back then, Indian cinema didn’t have the technology to capture mobile visuals. The chroma-shot songs had a charm of their own. The original Deewar song doesn’t appear to have been shot in chroma though. Emraan Hashmi and Esha Gupta truly seem to be enjoying in their sophisticated, modified vehicle.
Right at the beginning, the song spells out clearly that this is a ‘bina rap wala remix’. That’s followed by the lyrical whistling and those familiar with the 'Keh Doon Tumhe' song will be quick to realise that Bagchi has remixed the Deewar track.
The remix, though, begins with the antara ‘soch hai yahi tumhe rasta bhulaye’ of the original before you hear the familiar words ‘keh doon tumhe'. The slight rearrangement of lyrics syncs well with the peppy music. The extended version of the song will give a clear idea, but lyricist Manoj Muntashir has added a touch of originality to the music video with refreshing lines.
Jubin Nautiyal and Neeti Mohan have refreshing voices, but Bagchi does well to retain Asha Bhosle’s voice from the original. Apart from the peppy music, the song stands out for being a whistle-worthy tribute to the original.
To watch the original song featuring Shashi Kapoor and Neetu Singh in Deewaar, click here. Watch the 'Socha Hai' number below: