5 Pakistani songs that were remixed and ruined by Bollywood

Some of these are purely unforgiveable

KARACHI: The love people have for Pakistani music around the world cannot be denied. From late industry legends like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Nazia Hasan to stars like Atif Aslam and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan who are all the rage today, our musicians have made us proud and continue to do so.

In much the same way, Bollywood music has an avid fan following of its own. In fact, considering that it operates at a much larger scale than Pakistani cinema, it's safe to assume that Indian music reaches far more people than Pakistani content.

But that has never stopped India and Pakistan from copying each other's music. And it's not just us "taking inspiration" from them... Bollywood is equally guilty of copying our music and often, ruining it. Instead of keeping the true essence of the track, some composers across the border seem to go the extra mile and consciously destroy a perfectly good song.

Don't believe me? Take a look for yourself. Here are five local songs that were remade and ruined in Bollywood.

1. 'Hawa Hawa'


The original Hawa Hawa was sung by Hassan Jahangir in the 1980s and fans fell in love with the preppy track instantly. Many youngsters still remember the song and often dance to it at mehendis.

But admittedly, we were all taken aback when the 2017 Bollywood hit Mubarkan released a rehashed version of it. Sung by Mika Singh for the Arjun Kapoor-starrer, the new Hawa Hawa seems to have been beaten up badly - like a piñata except that instead of candy, it felt like melted metal being poured into our ears.


2. 'Disco Deewane'


Crooned by the dynamic brother-sister duo of Nazia and Zoheb Hassan, Disco Deewane became a dance anthem for the youth in the early 1980s. It's a classic is still loved by many and considered as one of the most defining points of Nazia's career and the Pakistani music industry.

In 2012, Karan Johar introduced Alia Bhatt, Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan to us via Student of the Year. The film also offered a modern take to Nazia's most beloved song but in doing so, somehow crushed it into a gazillion pieces. Karan claimed The Disco Song song was indeed inspired from the original but come on...At least put inspiration to good use.


3. 'Lambi Judai'


It seems like the 1980s were a golden era for Pakistani music. Legendary singer Reshma crooned the heart-wrenching Lambi Judai for Hero and the song touched star-crossed lovers everywhere. Painful yet beautiful, Reshma's soulful melody became a ballad for the broken hearted.

But Bollywood's version of Lambi Judai broke our hearts further. Emraan Hashmi's 2008 film Jannat featured its own version of the song, remixed and rehashed completely, without any of the authenticity of the original. Moreover, converting the Punjabi language into Hindi sort of took away the emotional impact of the lyrics, no?


4. 'Halka Halka Suroor'


It's a known fact that music maestro Nusrat's songs transcended  borders. They are still loved to this day, proving that the late qawwal  changed the game of qawwali forever.

While many remixes of his hit numbers of have produced ever since his death, it's Fanney Khan's version seems to be the most disturbing one to date. The upcoming Anil Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan-starrer shows the latter in a Madonna-esque avatar, as she lip syncs to Sunidhi Chauhan smacking the flavour out of Nusrat's iconic Halka Halka Suroor.


5. 'Kina Sona Tenu Rab Ne Banaya'


Nusrat's famous Kina Sona Tenu Rab Ne Banaya was also brutally terrorised by the 1996 film Raja Hindustani. Picturised on Aamir Khan and Karisma Kapoor, the song title was changed to Kitna Pyara Tujhe Rab Ne Banaya and sung by Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan. Every 90s kid remembers the Bollywood version but many are now realising that the tune was stolen from the Pakistani legend.


Have something to add to the story? Share in the comments below.