Hate Story IV song: 'Aashiq Banaya Aapne' remake has better score but lacks Himesh magic

Hindi film music from the 1990s became the new 'classic' when music directors ran amuck remaking popular tracks from the period. Now it appears as if the music of the early 2000s could get the same rating with a popular Himesh Reshammiya number being remade for Hate Story IV.

The track in question is none other than the famous 'Aashiq Banaya Aapne' number from 2005. T-Series, the film and music company that holds the rights to the original, has re-created the song for the fourth instalment of the Hate Story franchise.

Interestingly, the lyricist of the original version, Sameer, has not been mentioned in the credits for the remake. This may be because the original lyrics are barely used. Manoj Muntashir has penned the new lyrics. Apart from the 'Aashiq Banaya Aapne' line, he has presented new lyrics altogether.

More often than not, remakes suffer because lyricists don’t give much attention to creating new, meaningful poetry. However, Muntashir's lyrics are appealing and in synch with the visuals and the music.

Tanishk Bagchi deserves credit for the thoroughly captivating score. The music is more lively, more rhythmic than the original, which was a little mellow. The tabla beats were a key component in the original, but Bagchi uses very little of that here. The remake is more like a soothing club number with vibrant beats.

Bagchi got Neha Kakkar to croon the 'Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast' remake for Machine (2017). Kakkar’s strength is her sensuous voice which attracts you to her songs. She pulls off such numbers with ease. Kakkar has claimed this remake too. In fact, she seems to have scored over Shreya Ghoshal who sang the original with Reshammiya.

Urvashi Rautela does not fail to impress either. As an actress she has miles to go, but as a dancer she can win you over, as was apparent from her performance in the 'Resham Ka Rumaal' remake from Great Grand Masti (2016).

Not many choreographers have been able to tap into Rautela's dancing talent as they have mostly focused on exposing her skin than on providing her the right moves. A prime example is her dance in the remake of 'Saara Zamana' in Kaabil (2017), where she looked more like an acrobat than a dancer.

Thankfully, the choreographer for the 'Aashiq Banaya Aapne' remix has given Rautela the right moves, though, of course, she has to flaunt her fabulous figure as well.

The picturization of the original song was enjoyable for the intimate scenes between Emraan Hashmi and Tanushree Dutta. No such scenes are needed here as Rautela is a delight to watch all by herself.

What the song lacks, though, is Himesh Reshammiya's magic, as he is kept to the minimum. Reshammiya fans would be a tad disappointed. Perhaps, Kakkar's contribution might just win them over. One can only hope the extended version has more of Reshammiya.

For now though, fans will thoroughly enjoy this remake. You can watch it here. 

Also watch the original here. 

Hate Story IV is set to be released on 9 March. Click here if you would like to try your hand at predicting the film's box-office performance.