EXCLUSIVE: Koena Mitra on O Saki Saki remake: It was a blockbuster song; felt bad when I heard the new track
Koena Mitra, who featured in the original O Saki Saki track, reacts to the remake version for Batla House featuring Nora Fatehi. Read exclusive quote.
After the sultry Dilbar track, Nora Fatehi, who was last seen in Bharat, is back with yet another sexy number, this time with a remix of popular Hindi song O Saki Saki from the movie Musafir. The remake will feature in the movie Batla House which saw John Abraham and Mouni Roy in pivotal roles. The original O Saki Saki featured Koena Mitra and Sanjay Dutt in lead roles. The remake version certainly highlights Nora's prowess as a dancer, but the soundtrack has garnered a mixed response. Koena Mitra, who literally left us all amazed with her stunning moves in the original song, shared her opinion on the remake on Twitter earlier. When PINKVILLA contacted her, she opened up on the disappointment she felt upon hearing the soundtrack; however, she applauded Nora for doing a fabulous job.
Koena shared, "Musafir was my first film, and this is a blockbuster song which worked for everyone, the creators, Vishal-Shekhar, Sunidhi, Sukhwinder, the choreographer, the director and especially for me. For a debutante like me, it was magical. I remember going to IIFA and then Dubai where people were calling it an "anthem." From there to this [the recreated version], the soundtrack for the remix has just made me sad."
She continued, "First of all, the song is very fresh in my mind; why are they messing with all these cult songs? These songs have a separate solid fan-base. I think today's music composers need to stick to original and make new songs instead of damaging old ones. I felt bad, I was in pain when I saw the teaser. My only complaint is the soundtrack; Nora is lovely. She is so confident and has done it in her style. I have no complaints against her; she is an artist, and she did it a fab one, but the choreography, the way it is shot and the soundtrack, I think they did not think so much and plan it with a lot of responsibility and sincerity. When you recreate a cult and iconic song, you do it with responsibility. You either make it as good as the original or you take it a notch higher. You take it to another level. Then, only it makes a point, otherwise what's the use?"
She reiterated, "It is a very special song for me as it was my debut and also the first thing I shot on sets. The song is still fresh; the song is not even too old, why recreate it? If it was a 70s-80s song, it would have been fine. The amount of hard work we did to shoot this song, and of course, Sanjay Dutt's presence made a huge difference. The teamwork in the recreated version doesn't show. Nora is the only thing I like about the new video."
When asked Koena if she was aware of the remake, she added, "I did not know about recreation. I got to know when I saw it trending on Twitter. When I saw it, I was upset. I was hoping that the original team had worked on it and then I heard the voice, and I was like no! They should have approached the original composers to recreate something more powerful; only they could have done justice to it."
She concluded saying, "Bollywood should now just stop remaking, create new ones, show your creativity."