Instead of sending hate, don’t listen to 'Pasoori Nu': Shae Gill

Pakistani singer Shae Gill has finally reacted to the much-criticised Bollywood remake of her Coke Studio hit, Pasoori. The rising star, who sang the Pakistani track with celebrated artist, Ali Sethi, took to Instagram and shared her two cents on the ongoing controversy regarding the aforementioned number. 

The song, retitled Pasoori Nu for Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani's latest rom-com, Satyaprem Ki Katha, has been sung by award-winning Indian crooner, Arijit Singh. Taking to her Instagram Stories, the Left Right singer said, “I have been getting a lot of questions regarding whether this was my decision. Guys, I don't own the song, I don't have the rights, so I didn't sell it. I actually found out through you guys about the remake of the song.”

In a message to her fans who didn't like the song, she continued, “I also want to talk about the hate that people have been sending towards the new song. I understand that you all love the original Pasoori so much, I am so grateful for the love, I can’t even begin to express how grateful I am. But also at the same time, I don’t want you to be sending hate to someone else."

Gill went on, "Just look at it as a rendition rather than a remake. Maybe that will help. And if it's something that you don't like at all, I would say don't listen to it. Instead of sending hate, don’t listen to it because not liking something and talking about it in your home is still fine but if you are publicly humiliating and insulting someone then it’s not very nice, is it?"

On the other hand, Rochak Kohli, who composed the rendition, told News 18 that Sethi and Singh were prepared for the hate the Bollywood rendition has been receiving. Kohli said that they can’t stop the reactions, but even before they started work on the recreation, they were anticipating such reactions. 

“Even before we created the remake, everyone including Ali and Arijit expected such reactions because it is like disrupting something that has been done really well," he told the publication. "So the initial reactions were only on the idea that Pasoori was being recreated as many hadn’t even heard the song. We launched the song on Monday morning and we received a lot of hatred. As people are listening to it, their reactions are turning positive and are saying that this isn’t as bad as we expected,” Kohli said.

Kohli said that they made the song with “honest intentions” and “with the best available talent”. He added, “The song has the approval of the original creators. Also, we make sure that we don’t hurt anyone’s sentiments. The original song was poetic and in Punjabi, we decided to simplify it and keep it in Hindi. There were many challenges but overall we are very satisfied with the new version.”

About 'Pasoori Nu'

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.

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