Hansal Mehta on remixes after Masakali 2.0 row: It's an insult to the original creator

On Thursday, Twitter was abuzz with criticism of Masakali 2.0, Tanishk Bagchi's remix of AR Rahman's original composition Masakali for Delhi-6. After Rahman tweeted about the hardwork that goes into making an original song and director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra urging people to say no to remixes, it is filmmaker Hansal Mehta who has joined the online debate.

Hansal Mehta took to Twitter to urge people to reject the recreation of old songs. He wrote, "This 'recreation' of old songs can stop if the public rejects them. The numbers on YouTube for godawful versions of old songs are huge and hence music companies keep producing them. Stop viewing the videos. Stop listening to the songs. Stop playing them at events. They will stop (sic)."

This 'recreation' of old songs can stop if the public rejects them. The numbers on YouTube for godawful versions of old songs are huge and hence music companies keep producing them. Stop viewing the videos. Stop listening to the songs. Stop playing them at events. They will stop. — Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) April 9, 2020

He didn't stop at this and further added, "We are complicit in this bastardisation of old songs. It is seen as a small price to pay for getting your film produced. Truth : it is a travesty. It is an insult to the original creator by an ecosystem that thrives on shit. Stop consuming shit. People will stop producing shit (sic)."

We are complicit in this bastardisation of old songs. It is seen as a small price to pay for getting your film produced. Truth : it is a travesty. It is an insult to the original creator by an ecosystem that thrives on shit. Stop consuming shit. People will stop producing shit. — Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) April 9, 2020

The director didn't shy away from calling out the makers of the new song and made it clear that he is talking about Tanishk Bagchi's version of Masakali. He wrote, "Yes. I am reacting to the awful, ear shattering #Masakali version. But check its YouTube views in 48 hrs. Then see how DJs blast it at events. And how people groove to the godawful version. Shit sells. While we cringe, somebody is laughing his way to the bank (sic)."

Yes. I am reacting to the awful, ear shattering #Masakali version. But check its YouTube views in 48 hrs. Then see how DJs blast it at events. And how people groove to the godawful version. Shit sells. While we cringe, somebody is laughing his way to the bank. — Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) April 9, 2020

Watch Masakali 2.0 here:

On Thursday, AR Rahman tweeted, "No short cuts, properly commissioned, sleepless nights, writes and re-writes. Over 200 musicians, 365 days of creative brainstorming with the aim to produce music that can last generations. A team of a director, a composer and a lyricist supported by actors, dance directors and a relentless film crew (sic)."

Enjoy the original #Masakali https://t.co/WSKkFZEMB4@RakeyshOmMehra @prasoonjoshi_ @_MohitChauhan pic.twitter.com/9aigZaW2Ac — A.R.Rahman (@arrahman) April 8, 2020

Masakali 2.0 was released on Wednesday by T-Series. Tanishk Bagchi is the composer of the new song, while it is sung by Tulsi Kumar and Sachet Tandon. Sidharth Malhotra and Tara Sutaria feature in the music video.

The original song was composed by AR Rahman and penned by Prasoon Joshi. Mohit Chouhan had lent his voice for Delhi-6's Masakali featuring Abhishek Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor.

Watch original Masakali from Delhi-6:

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