Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 1, 2019)

In 1995, the song “Bhangda Paa Le”, from Rakesh Roshan’s Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan-starrer Karan Arjun, achieved chartbuster status. Twenty-four years on, it is making its way back to the mainstream. The song has been recreated by Sneha Taurani for her directorial debut, Bhangra Paa Le, which features Sunny Kaushal and Rukshar Dhillon as leads. The film is produced by her father, Ramesh Taurani, and Ronnie Screwvala. “Two things led us to recreate this track. Since our film revolves around Bhangra, the song lends itself to the dance form. Secondly, our title itself is a good fit with the song,” says Sneha.

She goes on to add that recreations are not without their share of pressures, particularly when the original is a chartbuster. “But we have adapted it into the film’s world completely, so hopefully, the grooves will get people moving,” she smiles. Ask her about the sequences that build up to the song in the film, and she reveals, “The film revolves around college rivalry between our characters—Jaggi (Sunny) and Simi (Rukshar)—and this song appears as Jaggi works hard to form a team and prepare for an international competition.”

The original was composed by Rajesh Roshan and sung by Sadhana Sargam, Mohd Aziz and Sudesh Bhosle. Has she got a chance to play the song for Salman, Shah Rukh, or anyone else from the team yet, one wonders and Sneha answers in the negative, adding, “Here’s hoping that they will see it and it will bring a smile to their faces. Hopefully, they won’t kill us,” she signs off on a lighter note.