Anu Malik Supports ‘Chunnari Chunnari’ Recreation, Calls Song a Timeless Hit

Anu Malik has come out in support of the recreated version of Chunnari Chunnari from the upcoming film Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai after the remix drew criticism online following its release.

The composer shared a video on Instagram praising actor Varun Dhawan and expressing excitement over the new version of the song, which originally appeared in the 1999 film Biwi No. 1 starring Salman Khan and Sushmita Sen.

“Guys, itna acha laga bahut dino baad ek superstar, Varun Dhawan ke chehre pe yeh gana dekha. Earlier, this song was a super hit when it came out with Salman Khan. And Salman Khan took it to a different level,” Malik said in the video.

He added, “Pehle bhi gaana super hit tha, aaj bhi super hit aur kal bhi super hit rahega.”

Malik also praised Varun Dhawan’s dance performance in the recreated track. “What a dance, those girls are looking so beautiful… Varun, tu kya nacha hai yaar. Kya lag raha hai gaana,” he said.

Praise for David Dhawan and the New Film

The composer used the opportunity to speak about his long-standing collaboration with director David Dhawan, who has directed the upcoming film.

“David Dhawan ki koi bhi film ho Anu Malik toh dekhta hi dekhta hai. Itna kaam kiya hai David ke saath aur kya director hai,” Malik said

Adding that he was looking forward to Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai.

The recreated version of Chunnari Chunnari was released this week and features vocals by IP Singh, Jonita Gandhi, Asees Kaur, Sudhir Yaduvanshi and Anuradha Sriram. The track has been arranged by Akshay Raheja and Abhishek Singh, with choreography by Remo D’Souza.

The song has been picturised on Varun Dhawan alongside Pooja Hegde and Mrunal Thakur.

Abhijeet Bhattacharya Criticises the Remix

Singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya, who performed the original version with Anuradha Sriram, criticised the remake and questioned the trend of reviving older songs.

In an interview with ANI, Abhijeet referred to the original track as one of the biggest songs of Salman Khan’s career and commented on Varun Dhawan’s association with remakes of earlier films and songs directed by his father David Dhawan.

“Varun Dhawan iss gaane se Salman Khan nahi ban sakta,” he said, adding that there is “a big difference between Salman Khan and Varun Dhawan.”

Abhijeet also described the recreated version as sounding more like a “bhajan” than a romantic dance number.

Controversy Around the Song’s Usage

The recreated track has also become part of a separate dispute involving its usage rights. Vashu Bhagnani of Pooja Entertainment has accused producer Ramesh Taurani and director David Dhawan of recreating and reusing the song without his approval.

Directed by David Dhawan, Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai also stars Maniesh Paul, Chunky Panday, Jimmy Sheirgill and Mouni Roy. The film is scheduled to release in theatres on June 5.