Rina Charaniya(Rii) on Remake of Old Songs

From “Dus bahaane 2.0” to “Dilbar”, and “Aankh maarey”, remakes have made its way back to the industry, and while some love to dance to the jazzed up beats, some are still a fan of the old songs. And it’s not just the audience, but even the singers have a divided opinion on this. “Phir mulaqaat”, and “Judaa” singer Rina Charaniya, who is popularly known as Rii, accepts that the remakes are made considering the current audience taste, but reveals that she will not do a remake with twisted lyrics just to look cool. She also revealed that if ever she sings a remake, she will try to maintain the beauty of the original song.

“I have no problems in doing a remake, but I strongly feel that you can never make a song better than the original. If I ever make a remake then I will first see that we are matching with the original on some level and not changing it entirely. Secondly, I will not put any nasty lyrics in it, because of late people have started twisting it to match the taste of the audience. So if that’s being done, then I will not do it because I don’t want to spoil a song or the beauty of it. Those old songs were written by some great writers and lyricists, so I will not twist the lyrics and sing them just to look cool,” she said.  When asked what she feels about so many remakes being made these days, she said that it’s because it gives a good business. 

 “When you lack original content, you make a remake. If a song is already famous and is loved by the masses, then I don’t think changing the music or the lyrics here and there can make it better. Original will always be the original, and you can never make a better version of it. But labels have the rights for it and they do it, and there is one section of the audience that happily accepts it too. Some people enjoy it, and to cater to that audience remakes are made. And it also results in good business,” Rii said.  

The singer also asserted that remakes also give a guarantee of a sure-shot success, and said, “Today’s generation is very fast, they don’t have time for anything. And our brain also works like that. If you see today, only 20-30 percent of the people love 90s music, else everyone wants to hear fast-paced songs. So people play with your brains through music.” 

“On top of that, I feel that remakes are made because you already have a famous song, it’s a super hit in the market, and then you want a song which you know will be a sure shot success. You are confident that even with a little twist people are going to like it, if not love it, so they make a remake. And it gives them good business. So it’s less about art now and more about business, and making money,” Rii concluded.