Dhollywood sways to recreated folk songs

Such is the magic of old Gujarati songs, that when singer Darshan Raval recently uploaded a recreated version of a popular Gujarati number Nayan Ne Bandh Rakhine online, it crossed 20 million views in no time. Other Gujarati musicians like Sachin-Jigar, Aishwarya Majmudar, Parthiv Gohil and Aditya Gadhvi have witnessed similar online success for their respective recreated old songs in recent times.And when such is the popularity, it was only a matter of time when Dhollywood took note of this trend. While Bollywood has been riding high on various recreated/remixed versions of old melodies for few years now, Gujarati filmmakers also seem to have woken up to the magic popular old songs can create when given a new, contemporary sound.
On World Music Day, we look at how recreated melodies in Gujarati films are making all the right symphonies. Sample this: Popular Gujarati folk fusion band Meghdhanush will be recreating two folk songs for an upcoming film The Reunion. While a popular wedding song Nanavati was recreated in Oxygen by Vinay Kapadia, Maulik Mehta recreated an old folk song Kapadvanj Ni Sheri for YD Family. Similarly, Parth Bharat Thakkar gave a new lease of life to Atlo Matko for Love Ni Bhavai, Sachin-Jigar gave a young vibe to Nayan Ne Bandh Rakhine for Best of Luck Laalu, Maulik Mehta’s rendition of Mehandi Te Vavi from Dil Chemistry was a hit and Dawgeek and Advait Nemlekar’s fast paced version of Odhni Odhu Toh from Gujjubhai Most Wanted struck an instant connect with the audience.
Nostalgia works
While old classics have a strong nostalgia attached to them, folk songs carry a sense of timeless appeal, and this is what makes musicians and filmmakers revisit them time and again. Having such songs in a film not only creates a buzz around the film, but the nostalgia attached to these make the listeners feel more connected, feel Gujarati filmmakers. “There are a few old songs that are loved irrespective of when the original was released. When you recreate such songs for your film, they not only bring back the same appeal of the original, but recreation gives it a new lease of life too,” says filmmaker Chinmaay Purohiit. Agrees music composer Jainam Modi, “Be it folk or popular yesteryear songs, their timeless appeal works well with the audience, and this is what filmmakers try to make the most of. The old song appeals to the older audience, and a recreated, more contemporary sound works well for the younger listeners. This way you reach out to a much wider audience.” Jainam adds, “These days music is being used for promotion and such songs work well for creating the right buzz for a film, just as Bollywood has been doing for a long time.”
Bringing back the classics
While recreating old/folk songs has been a hit formula for film promotions, music composers see another side to it. Giving a new sound to an already popular number makes it more appealing to today’s audience and such recreations also help in bring folk into popular music vocabulary. Music composer Maulik Mehta says, “A film’s music reaches out to a large audience. And recreating folk songs means you are providing today’s listeners gems from our folk musical culture that they might have not heard before.” But recreating an old classic is not easy, feel musicians. “One needs to be careful while recreating a folk song or an old classic,” says composer Parth Bharat Thakkar. He adds, “You should not lose the soul of the original song while giving it a new feel. And that is the biggest challenge.” It might be challenging to do justice to a melody that has already created a cult status, but this newness has surely brought back a number of Gujarati folk songs, classic garbas or even popular pop numbers into the song list of today’s listeners.