Lata Mangeshkar 'Doesn't Even Want To Hear' Atif Aslam's Chalte Chalte. She Sang The Original

Still from the reprised Chalte Chalte (courtesy YouTube)

Chalte Chalte, Lata Mangeshkar's iconic song from 1972's cult classic Pakeezah, was recently reprised into a contemporary version for the upcoming movie Mitron and no, Lata Mangeshkar is not pleased at all. Speaking to news agency in an interview, the legendary singer, said she hasn't listened to the song yet and neither does she intend to: "And I don't want to hear it. This trend of remixing old songs saddens me. Where is the creativity in simply lifting acknowledged, beloved classics and shuffling the notes around? I've even heard that the lyrics are changed in the remixes. By whose consent?" While the original was composed by Ghulam Mohammed, Chalte Chalte from Mitron has been recreated by Tanishk Bagchi and sung by Atif Aslam.

In the recent past, remixed versions of songs like O Meri Mehbooba, Raat Baaki, Keh Doon Tumhe, Aankh Maare, Dilbar and Sanu Ek Pal Chain have been introduced in the playlist of films. Not just the composition but even lyrics are often changed in the redux versions, something which also does not get Lata Mangeshkar's approval: "The original poets and composers wrote what they had to. Nobody has the right to tamper with the creativity of these great composers and lyricists," IANS quoted her as saying.

The rehashed version of Chalte Chalte failed to strike a chord with singer-politician Babul Supriyo also: "Today, even the poetic term 'artistic liberty' is at the verge of extinction. With due respect to Atif Aslam, as a singer myself, I will observe a 2 minute silence to mourn rather than offering a comment," he told IANS.

Veteran singer Alka Yagnik, whose song Dilbar Dilbar was recently remixed for Satyameva Jayate added: "Why don't they make a new song and make it a superhit if they can, instead of picking up an already superhit song, distorting it, and releasing it again... and then saying, 'See, it's become so popular'." She also said it's surprising how composers don't hesitate to tamper with Lata Mangeskar's priceless creations: "Chalo humaare gaanon ke saath ye zulm kartey hain but their audacity is increasing by the day. Now they've started doing this to Lata didi's song as well."

Chalte Chalte from Mitron released last week.

Meanwhile, here's the original one:

Directed by Nitin Kakkar, Mitron stars Jackky Bhagnani and Kritika Kamra. The film releases later this month.

(With IANS inputs)