Sairat (2016) song 'Zingaat' is an iconic number that continues to be a huge hit on the dance floor. The rural Maharashtrian feel, coupled with heavy percussion, a high-energy tune, fast tempo, and some interesting lyrics made it the biggest hit to come out of Marathi cinema, with more than 118 million views and counting, on YouTube.
Adapting such a massive song which is still fresh to Dhadak's (2018) Rajasthani setting was always going to be a challenge. Composer Ajay-Atul do one wise thing and don't mess with what has worked. They mostly stick to the original composition. Unfortunately, that means it continues to sound more like a Marathi song.
What they do though is get Amitabh Bhattacharya to add a few Rajasthani words and a few English ones, apart from Hindi of course, to shake things up a little bit so it gets some Rajasthani flavour, and yet appeals to a larger audience. If you mute the words, you would barely notice a difference between the original composition and the Dhadak adaptation.
While Bhattacharya has some brilliantly written lyrics to his name, these are not innovative. The song kicks off with 'Kesariya maro balma, padharo mari country ma re'. And the main lines become 'Dhadak chakdum dhadkan bole jab tu chatt pe aye, nain lada ke tujhse man mandir me jingle bell ho jaye'. But if you mute the words it is basically the same old 'Zingaat'.
One of the biggest highlights of Sairaat was the no holds barred dancing from Akash Thosar and gang, who basically did their own thing on the dance floor while Nagraj Manjule filmed them. The raw appeal made the video enjoyable.
Here, the song has been choreographed by Farah Khan. We are not sure what the brief from director Shashank Khaitan was in this case, but this video feels a lot more staged. Even then the leads does not let you down completely as they have a cute chemistry going. Newcomers Ishaan Khatter and Janhvi Kapoor make the most of the infectious energy of the composition, and definitely make their presence felt.
Blame it on the crazy energy of this dance song, but 'Zingaat' can totally be enjoyed in any language as long as the basic structure and composition isn't messed around with.
Watch 'Zingaat Hindi' video here: