IP Singh Defends ‘Chunnari Chunnari’ Reimagining, Calls It a Tribute to the Classic

MUMBAI, India — Musician IP Singh has responded to criticism over the reimagined version of “Chunnari Chunnari” for the upcoming film “Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai,” saying the new track is intended as a tribute to the popular song from the 1999 film “Biwi No. 1.”

Singh, who sang and composed “Chunnari Chunnari – Let’s Go,” defended the decision to revisit the song, saying reimagining iconic tracks is a long-standing musical tradition around the world.

“Actually, you know, we usually pay homage or reimagine songs that were iconic in their time,” Singh told IANS.

“And this has been done all over the world, be it Drake, be it Limp Bizkit, be it several bands, you know. They’ve always paid homage to other people’s music by interpreting it in their own way. So yeah, that’s what I’d like to say to them,” he said.

The original “Chunnari Chunnari,” picturized on Salman Khan and Sushmita Sen, remains one of the best-known Hindi film songs of the late 1990s. Asked whether he questioned if such an iconic track should be remade, Singh said the team was excited about the opportunity.

“We were just really, really excited when we got an opportunity, when we got a call from Kumarji Rameshji from Tips that, they were thinking of a reimagination of this track. Toh hum toh ekdum hi khush ho gaye the. All these thoughts really never came to our mind,” Singh said.

Singh also pushed back on the idea that recreating popular songs is mainly a safer commercial strategy than producing original music. He said familiarity can help a track connect with listeners, but that reimagined songs can also introduce older music to new audiences.

“Honestly, we don’t think that it’s only about commercial success. Of course, you know, it helps when something known is heard again,” he said.

“But, you know, when we were growing up, when we were in the 90s and early 2000s, there were so many re-imaginations, so many re-interpretations of 80s and 70s tracks that we don’t think that we would have been exposed to them if they were not presented to us,” Singh said.

He said the new version should be seen as part of a broader musical tradition rather than as a replacement for the original.

“It is an homage, it’s a tribute to one of the greatest tracks,” Singh said.

“And it’s just another kind of, you know, art that is in the sonic space, like original songs, like folk songs. This is also just another branch of music, I think,” he added. (Source: IANS)