Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 13, 2017)

Four years after the release of Mrighdeep Singh Lamba’s coming-of-age comedy Fukrey, Ali Fazal, Varun Sharma, Pulkit Samrat, Manjot Singh and Richa Chadha are set to return with the sequel. Mirror has now learnt that producers Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani have recreated the iconic song, “O meri Mehboobo”, from Manmohan Desai’s 1977 fantasy-adventure, Dharam Veer, which had featured Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Zeenat Aman and Neetu Singh.

“It’s the first song in the film and comes at a crucial point in the narrative as Part 2 starts exactly one year after the original ended. Richa’s lady don, Bholi Punjaban, is in jail and Hunny, Choocha, Lali and Zafar are enjoying life, believing the past is behind them, when lives spirals downwards. It is picturised on the four boys,” informs Ritesh, adding that composer Prem Hardeep who had scored “Kala Chashma” for Nitya Mehra’s Baar Baar Dekho sent them scratch with the hook line being “O meri mehbooba”.

Ritesh loved the song and Raftaar has rapped for the recreated “Mehbooba”. The makers have retained the original hook line, “O meri mehbooba mehbooba mehbooba, tujhey jaana hai toh jaa teri marji mera kya.” “We are even trying to retain Mohd. Rafi’s voice, it’s a great song and I hope everyone likes this version,” says Ritesh.

With so many classic numbers like “Tamma Tamma”, “Humma Humma”, “Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast” and “Hawa Hawaii” among many others being recreated, has reworking old classics become the new trend? “I don’t know about trend as it depends on the film and it’s requirement. It worked for “Kala Chashma” and for Judwaa 2. Even in Don we kept “Khaike Paan” and “Yeh Mera Dil”. Thanks to technology we can retain the melody while making it slightly more contemporary,” the filmmaker explains.