The recreated version of the beloved 1999 classic ‘Chunnari Chunnari’ has stirred up fresh controversy, this time from an unexpected but authoritative voice, original singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya. Reacting sharply to its recreation in Varun Dhawan‘s upcoming film ‘Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai’, Abhijeet has pulled no punches, calling out the remake and taking a direct swipe at Varun for repeatedly relying on old Bollywood hits.
Abhijeet Bhattacharya calls out Varun Dhawan for doing ‘second-hand’ films
In an interview with ANI, Abhijeet Bhattacharya reflected on the legendary status of the original track from ‘Biwi No. 1’, which featured Salman Khan, Karisma Kapoor, and Sushmita Sen.Abhijeet said, “Yeh gaana Salman ki life ka biggest song tha. Jab aayi thi, tab se ab tak trending hai. Salman Khan ki life ka sabse bada hit hai Chunnari Chunnari. Uss waqt ek rising star tha, not a superstar (This song was the biggest hit of Salman’s career. Ever since its release, it has remained popular and trending even today. ‘Chunari Chunari’ is the biggest hit of Salman Khan’s life. At that time, he was a rising star, not yet a superstar).“ He then turned his attention directly to Varun, and the criticism was blunt. “The actor (Varun Dhawan) has only done second-hand films, especially when his father (David Dhawan) directed the original films. He also uses the same songs that were once a hit. Varun Dhawan iss gaane se Salman Khan nahi ban sakta (Varun Dhawan cannot become Salman Khan using this song). There is a big difference between Salman Khan and Varun Dhawan.”Abhijeet didn’t stop there. He quipped that the recreated version of the romantic track now sounds more like a “bhajan.”
Makers of ‘Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai’ never approached the original singer
In a revealing disclosure, Abhijeet Bhattacharya confirmed that the makers of ‘Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai’ never contacted him before recreating the song. He said that even if they had approached him, he would have thought twice before agreeing. In hindsight, he is now relieved he wasn’t part of it, as it would have, in his words, degraded the song’s legacy.
More about ‘Chunari Chunar Let’s Go’
The new version of ‘Chunnari Chunnari’, unveiled on Tuesday, has been arranged by Akshay Raheja and Abhishek Singh, choreographed by Remo D’Souza, and features singers IP Singh, Jonita Gandhi, Asees Kaur, Sudhir Yaduvanshi, and Anuradha Sriram. The song is picturised on Varun Dhawan, Pooja Hegde, and Mrunal Thakur.Directed by David Dhawan and produced by Ramesh Taurani, ‘Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai’ releases in theatres on June 5.
