Raghav Mathur, the celebrated Indipop sensation from the 2000s, has sent his fans into frenzy again with the video of his latest track Choro. The song video, which focuses on the eerie world of fandom, pays homage to the 1990 psychological thriller Misery, which is based on Stephen King's 1987 novel of the same name. In an exclusive conversation with DNA, the Canadian born singer talked about Choro and revealed why he agreed for the reprise version of Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya after 20 years.
Recalling how the idea of Choro originated, Raghav said, "When we were writing the song, the lyrics didn't sound like me. They didn't sound like something I would say to a girl, so I was almost thinking that we should go back and re-write the whole song. But before I did that, I thought what if the video projects a character of me in a situation that justifies the lyrics. And then I thought, what if James Caan was singing in this head to Kathy Bates in Misery, and then it just works perfect."
Just like his previous songs pay a tribute to retro Hindi tracks, Raghav's latest track Choro also samples lyrics from the song Piya Aiso Jiya Mein Samaya Gayo from the 1962 film Saheb Biwi Aur Ghulam. Music composer Hemant Kumar, lyricist Shakeel Badayuni, and singer Geeta Dutt have been given proper credits.
Raghav also shared his thoughts on the remix culture in Bollywood. "I never liked these remixes, I think they are too on the nose. When we take a sample, we incorporate it into a new composition so it's kind of paying homage. I have never really liked just taking a song and redoing it. I don't think I have ever heard a new version of a record that surpasses the old one", he said.
The singer has had a great start this year when his song Teri Baaton from his 2004 album Storyteller got a new lease of life in the romantic comedy Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya. Raghav recreated the title track for Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon-starrer film and it became a huge success, topping the music charts across streaming platforms.
Revealing why he decided to rework on the song after so many years, the singer stated, "Around three to four years ago, Teri Baaton was trending again on Instagram reels during the Covid pandemic. At that time, I was approached by a bunch of film companies to redo the song for a film and I said no to everybody. Shortly after that big wave, I got an e-mail from T-Series saying that there is a movie starring Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon, and they wanted to put the song into the film. I thought that things are going so well with the song, it's now had a second life 18 years later, maybe I should just let go of my fears about it and let someone take it and put it into a movie. I think the universe picked the right film for it, not only a film that honours the song but names the movie after the song."
Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya went on to become a critical and commercial success, as it grossed more than Rs 130 crore worldwide. The film's soundtrack, including Akhiyaan Gulaab, Laal Peeli Akhiyaan, Gallan, Tum Se and the title track sung by Raghav and remixed by Tanishk Bagchi, became an instant chartbuster.
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