Vishal-Shekhar: We're doing whatever we can to save our song

Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani

Upon its release 15 years ago, Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani's Dus bahane became a party anthem of sorts. Now, the fast-paced number from Dus (2005) has been revisited by Tiger Shroff and Shraddha Kapoor for Baaghi 3. In an age where Bollywood songs are constantly being reinvented, Dadlani has been at the forefront, criticising the trend.

In a previous interview with mid-day, he had referred to his slate of angry tweets when reiterating that he wouldn't take lightly to filmmakers contemplating remixing their songs, asserting that the feat may take away from the body of work of artistes who were "trying to create a legacy". It hence took us by surprise when we learnt that the duo was willing to rehash their own song. In a joint statement, the duo says, "We're doing whatever we can to save our song. It had already been shot to some chop-shop version, before we found out and objected. We insisted on creative approval, remuneration and primary and sole credit for our composition. Thankfully, everyone concerned has recognised and understood our right to protect our work, [and] our refusal to allow it to be released with anyone else's name on it. Ahmed Khan and Sajid Nadiadwala have been supportive. Bhushan Kumar too had a long chat and promised to never re-use our music without our involvement. Since this had already been shot to a version we didn't particularly care for, we are now trying to fix it so that a song that we all love, and one that has stood the passage of 16 years, isn't reduced to merely another shoddy "remix"."

Responding to suggestions that Dadlani may also render his vocals to the revisited track, the duo says, "We haven't decided about that yet. We may keep the original vocals, because Shekhar and I are great friends with [original singers] KK and Shaan. We started together, and were part of this path-breaking track. But, since the tempo and verse have changed, we may need to replace the vocals too. Will decide in a day or two."

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Contrary to reports that suggested that Disha Patani would be seen in the reprised version of Dus bahane, mid-day has learnt that the song has the film's leading lady Shraddha Kapoor matching steps with Tiger Shroff. A source from the creative team reveals that director Ahmed Khan shot the track last December. "It was filmed across Serbia, Georgia, the Sambhar Salt Lake in Rajasthan, and Mumbai. Ahmed reimagined it as a stylised number that was shot against white backgrounds across the locales. He roped in couturier Aki Narula to design bright-coloured outfits for the leads."

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