The year couldn’t have begun on a more celebratory note for Mithoon. January reverberated with the sounds of his songs from Border 2. People around him might have a different opinion on recreations, but as the composer-singer sits for a chat with mid-day, he is only filled with love and pride about revisiting the classic tracks of Border (1997) for the sequel. Excerpts from the interview.

Bhushan Kumar [producer], Anurag Singh, and Nidhi Dutta [writer and producer] said they were planning a sequel to Border. Some things are non-negotiable. For example, everybody in the room knew that Border 2 would be incomplete without a couple of elements — one is Sunny [Deol] sir. The second is its iconic songs like Sandese Aate Hain and Toh Chaloon. Everyone felt I should be given the task of recreating them. But I was clear from day one that I wanted Anu Malikji’s approval because those two songs are owned by him, and Javed [Akhtar] saab, who has written them. Anuji agreed. That set the ball rolling.

I don’t relate to pressure. Whether it’s an original song or a recreation, I don’t feel pressure because if you let it get to you, the battle is lost there itself. These are songs that people still relate to. In fact, there could be a Border 3, 4 or more [instalments], these songs will always be a part of its ethos.

Javed saab is entitled to his opinion. But there are new characters in this movie, and they needed a fresh perspective. That is where the director and all of us felt the necessity to add a couple of new antras to the track. Again, it was in sync with the song.

 

I do. I recreated Udd Jaa Kaale Kaava and Main Nikla in Gadar 2 [2023]. It’s what the story demands, and certain songs are etched into certain stories forever.