Calling Tanishk Bagchi the king of remakes wouldn’t be inappropriate. The man who is behind the most popular recreated songs like Tu Cheez Badi, Mere Rashke Qamar and Dilbar, has once again given a foot-tapping number with the remix of Aankh Marey.
The song from Arshad Warsi’s debut film in the 1990s, Tere Mere Sapne, has now been released with a contemporary sound for Rohit Shetty’s upcoming film Simmba. Starring Ranveer Singh, Sara Ali Khan and the entire cast of Golmaal, the song has crossed over five million views on YouTube. “People are loving the song, but there are also those who do not like it,” says the composer candidly, and adds, “I respect their view as well. I just want them to understand that the original track is still available for them to listen to. People had forgotten Aankh Marey. But today, every club in the country is playing it. I am just bringing back forgotten hits.”
Piloting dreams
In addition, it is the composer’s original songs, like Sweety Tera Drama (Bareilly Ki Barfi) and Manva Likes to Fly (Tumhari Sulu) that have put him in the league of the most popular music directors of Bollywood. When asked if he always wanted to be a music composer, Tanishk says, “I wanted to be a pilot. I thought pursuing music would just be a hobby.” Born to Nandakumar Das, a musician who used to work with RD Burman and Salil Chowdhury, Tanishk was destined to be a music director after he was injured in a terrible accident.
“Once I recovered, I learnt music production from my father and could compose tracks in just two days,” he reveals. He tested his skill in Kolkata by creating songs for DJs. These songs became instant hits at clubs and the young man moved to Mumbai nearly two decades ago to try his luck. “I worked for a couple of years before I met Aanand L Rai. He heard my work and asked me to compose for Tanu Weds Manu Returns, and I did Banno,” he reveals. This song was a hit and the composer bagged two more numbers. He worked on Bolna (Kapoor & Sons) and Baarish (Half Girlfriend), both turned out to be super hits. “Starting with one song per film, I finally got four songs in Simmba,” he offers.
Getting quirky
Each one of Tanishk’s songs has a quirk to it. In Tamma Tamma (Badrinath Ki Dulhaniyan) he brought Ameen Sayani’s voice, and in Simmba’s Aankh Marey, he has got the entire team of Golmaal (director Rohit Shetty’s most popular film franchise) to be part of this song. When asked what he feels about being called the king of remixes, he says, “I am okay with it. Ultimately, people enjoy dancing and listening to remixes. When I recreated Hamma Hamma, everyone criticised me but Rahman sir said this was the best recreation of his song.” His next composition is an original for Shah Rukh Khan’s Zero. It is a qawwali featuring the Nooran sisters.
ayeshatabassum@newindianexpress.com
@aishatax