G har ki murgi dal barabar. That applies very well to what is happening with films and item songs from the south. Tired of electronic and bhangra beats that dominated the item songs, the country is shaking a leg to the teen maar now.
A few years back, we wouldn’t have hummed ‘Ringa-Ringa’ aloud, despite this being a racy number. With item songs getting a whole new Telugu flavour, will Munni, Sheila and Jalebi Bai lose the race?
The Tamil film industry also inspires the Telugu film industry, as a result of which we are flooded with remakes and ‘inspired ideas’ peidharseudhar se and when you think every combination has been tried, it is time for music and tunes.
Salman made Asin dance to ‘Dhinka-Chika’ (Hindi version of ‘ringa ringa’) in Ready (the Hindi remake of Pokiri) Ready and Bollywood fans lapped it up. And the number made it to Bollywood nights in clubs. But when ‘Dhinka-Chika’s original song ‘Ringa-Ringa’ was picturised in Allu Arjun-starrer Arya 2, the song might not have been played in clubs but that didn’t make listeners miss the beauty and perfection with which Priya Hemesh sang ‘Ringa Ringa’ giving it a rustic feel.
“It could be because of the lyrics. The entire song is full of double entendre. Comparatively, ‘Dhinka-Chika’ is a cleaner song and talks about a lover’s yearning to find ways to meet his lady love. It talks about net chatting and going on a holiday unlike the Telugu song. The way the song is picturised make a world of difference,” says a movie critic.
A few weeks back, Akshay Kumar pulled out the ‘Dhin Takta Chita Chita Dhin Takta Ta’ (from Ravi Teja’s Vikramarkudu ) and once again a song from the Telugu land received a hero’s welcome in the Hindi film industry.
Do a net search on ‘ Aa Ante Amlapuram ’… and the pages that roll out has ek se badh kar ek comments and praise words for Hazel Keech who is setting the TV screens on fire as music channels play the promo of Naseeruddin Shah and Sonu Sood starrer Maximum . She gets the steps right to this rustic item song but still cannot match what Abhinayashree did in the 2007 film, Arya , the Telugu original. Choreographed in the Chaiyya-Chaiyya style and with music by Devisri Prasad, the original song was the most requested song on local music TV channels. The context and the situation have changed but the tune remains the same. So do the whistles in the background. “This is an indication that the nation is looking for a change and after having seen and tested movies and tunes from every other country, Bollywood walahs are looking at their country cousins who are doing a fantastic job with folk tunes,” says singer-performer Anuj Gurwara.
Anuj says, as a performer, he loves to watch the chaste Hind-speaking crowd dance to ‘ Appadi Podu ’ (the Tamil song from Vijay’s Gilli ). “Do we know what it means? Not really; it’s the beat that matters,” he adds.
If you thought tunes and lyrics from South are being recognised now, remember the popular song ‘ Ramayya Vastavayya… ’ from Sri 420 which made waves in 1955? When it comes to groovy tunes, language is no bar.
