'Pasoori Nu' is a nod to 'Pasoori' but not its replacement

Bollywood has transformed the heartbreak song into a love ballad

A day after the cast and makers of Satyaprem Ki Katha dropped the teaser for Pasoori Nu, the Indian remake of singers Ali Sethi and Shae Gill's global hit has released on YouTube and other music streaming platforms. Music video for the rendition, sung by Arijit Singh and Tulsi Kumar, features lead actors Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani.

Aaryan and Advani romance each other to the track as the video offers glimpses from the upcoming film. The actors don matching attires as they mouth the lyrics, that have been reworked in Hindi, with the original song being in Punjabi and Urdu. Pasoori Nu features music by Rochak Kohli and Sethi, with lyrics by Gurpreet Saini and Sethi.

The YouTube description of the song reinstates that Sethi reserves all rights to the original.

The fusion song has been given a Bollywood makeover for Satyaprem Ki Katha, with a new bridge, minor alterations to the chorus, and instrumentation not heard in the original. The original; a breakup song with musical influences ranging from reggaeton to the soulful tunes of the Rubab, has been transformed into a love song for Aaryan and Advani’s film.

A subpar remake at best, Pasoori Nu doesn’t carry the simplicity, nor the magic of Pasoori. With Arijit’s vocals carrying the track, changes made to the song make it a disjointed, odd hybrid of various Bollywood tracks. The pain and anguish of Pasoori, which was delivered by Sethi and Gill with ease in the original, has been extracted and replaced with feelings of desire. Pasoori Nu is a nod to Pasoori but not its replacement.

On Monday, the makers of the song, while sharing the rendition, announced, “Presenting the song Pasoori Nu from the movie Satyaprem Ki Katha. Relive the global Hit! Kartik Aaryan as Satyaprem and Kiara Advani as Katha…”

News of the Coke Studio remake had sparked outrage on Pakistani social media. Fans objected to Bollywood turning Pasoori’s lyrics into a romantic ballad. Users even criticised the decision to remake the song, questioning its need and accusing Indian artists of disrespecting Pakistani artists. “A Pasoori remake does not make sense. Aren’t there other singers except Arijit Singh? I’m tired of hearing him. Also, those lyrics of Pasoori aren’t romantic. What the hell is wrong with the team?” read a tweet.

A user remarked that Aaryan would regret his choices later. “Kartik is getting it wrong. Songs play a huge role in forming up actor's legacy (mainstream actor) in the long run. Remaking a hit song might help him today but nobody will remember this song was even there in the movie in 2-3 years’ time.” Another user shared how Singh is trying very hard to sound like Sethi in the remake. “By the way, Arijit sounds like he is actually heavily influenced by how Ali sethi sings because truly this isn't how Arijit actually sounds like.”

A tweep was just done with Bollywood being shameful and a hypocrite. “Banning Pakistani artists from working in the industry, meanwhile having no shame remaking – not to add butchering – a beloved pop culture hit just to create a little buzz around your next film. Bollywood keeps going lower. Have some shame,” they wrote.

Directed by Sameer Vidhwans, Satyaprem Ki Katha revolves around Aaryan's character, Satyaprem, who hails from Gujarat, and is desperately seeking marriage. He finds true love in Advani's character, Katha, and the film follows their endearing love story. The film is scheduled to hit theatres on June 29.

It is important to remember that when Pasoori released on Coke Studio Season 14, a press release mentioned that to Sethi, it was a product of the frustration caused by Pakistani artists being barred from working in India.

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