In the age of remixes and reprises, it is no surprise that the makers of Baaghi 2 decided to go forward with a bold attempt to recreate the classic Madhuri Dixit number 'Ek Do Teen' from Tezaab (1988) as a special song in their film.
While Jacqueline Fernandez attempted to step into Dixit's shoes, it was choreographer Ganesh Acharya and director Ahmed Khan who took up the task of creating the ethos for the song. Despite its buzz on social media, the new version has annoyed the creators of the original, director N Chandra and choreographer Saroj Khan.
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The Quint, a news website, reported that director N Chandra called the remix 'crass beyond imagination'. The report quoted the director as saying, "I met Sarojji at Sridevi’s prayer meeting. It was there that Sarojji marched up to me to tell me about it. Can you imagine how much it had upset her that she needed to vent at such a solemn occasion? Anyway she came to me and said, ‘Have you seen what they’re doing to our 'Ek Do Teen' number?’ I had no clue. Sarojji told me that the makers of Baaghi 2 were doing a new version of 'Ek Do Teen'. She said she will take legal action against it."
Baaghi 2 song 'Ek Do Teen': Jacqueline's version is more in 'Chikni Chameli' zone
The director went on to say that Fernandez's recreation of the song was akin to 'turning Central Park into a botanical garden'. "Madhuri danced with such grace and innocence. This number is like a sex act," the report quoted the director.
He further confirmed that he would be taking legal action against the makers of the remix, saying, "Sarojji and I are definitely taking action. Amitji [Amitabh Bachchan] has rightly spoken about archaic copyright laws which allow such liberties to be taken. Can you imagine, Mr Bachchan would have no rights over his father’s writings! What kind of laws allow people to do such things? We must be allowed to exercise some control over what we create."
The original number launched Dixit into super-stardom, and was one of the most iconic tunes of the 1990s. The song was composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal and sung by Alka Yagnik. The song won Saroj Khan the Filmfare award for Best Choreography, and Alka Yagnik the Best Female Singer award for the year.
Madhuri Dixit's performance is unmatchable: Jacqueline on 'Ek Do Teen'
The new version was choreographed by Ganesh Acharya, with Shreya Ghoshal delivering the vocals.
Bollywoodhungama.com quoted director Ahmed Khan saying that he had approached Saroj Khan for her 'blessings' before shooting the song. "When we think of an item song, we think of 'Ek Do Teen' as the baap of all them all. I quickly paid Sarojji a visit. But we did not invite her to do the choreography for the new version of 'Ek Do Teen' for two reasons. One, because we wanted a new treatment to the song. And two, because Sarojji is now getting old and is also likely to run out of patience on the sets," the report quoted him as saying.
The director had also mentioned that he will show the finished song to N Chandra and Saroj Khan.
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Incidentally, this report breaks a week after Punjabi singer Charanjit Singh Maakar threatened to sue the makers of Baaghi 2 for remixing his song 'Mundiyan Tu Bach Ke Rahi'. However, T-Series had stated that they had acquired the rights to the song from Sony Music, which released Maakar's album.