AR Rahman, Prasoon Joshi, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra speak out against 'Masakali 2.0'

Hours after the launch of 'Masakali 2.0', the latest recreation of an earlier hit by composer Tanishk Bagchi, the creators of the original song 'Masakali' from Delhi-6 (2009) spoke out against it.

Original composer AR Rahman was the first to speak up as he wrote about the team's process a decade ago. "No short-cuts, properly commissioned, sleepless nights, writes and re-writes. Over 200 musicians, 365 days of creative brainstorming with the aim to produce music that can last generations," he shared in an image on Twitter.

"A team of a director, a composer and a lyricist supported by actors, dance directors and a relentless film crew," he added, sending love and prayers to everyone. He also asked people to enjoy the original instead.

On Instagram, the composer was less polite.

Lyricist Prasoon Joshi stated that he was sad to see their original creation "insensitively utilized" and said it was "up to the conscience of [music label] T-Series".

Delhi-6 filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, too, condemned the remix and asked audiences to savour the original.

This new version, produced by Bhushan Kumar's T-Series, has been sung by Tulsi Kumar and Sachet Tandon and picturized on Sidharth Malhotra and Tara Sutaria. Earlier this year, Bagchi had remixed Rahman's iconic track 'Muqabla' for the Hindi film Street Dancer 3 (2020). He has already made a name (some may say ill-fame) for himself as a composer who is open to recreating older hits.

Music fans have already given a thumbs down to the new number, with filmmaker Hansal Mehta asking listeners to take a stand by not tuning in online.

The remix phase itself, which began nearly two decades ago with pop singles like the 'Kaanta Laga' remix and a host of remixes of Punjabi folk numbers, is unlikely to go away anytime soon, and after the current shutdown ends, it remains to be seen how many stick to the promise not to associate themselves with any recreations.