The title track of filmmaker David Dhawan’s next Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai, starring actor Varun Dhawan, was recreated and recorded in just 48 hours. That too, just 10 days before the teaser launch!
Musician and lyricist Mohsin Shaikh of music-composer duo Javed-Mohsin exclusively tells HT City that sessions with Varun were done at the studio to get the title track right.
The song is inspired by David Dhawan’s 1990 film Biwi No. 1 song Ishq Chandi Hai, Ishq Sona Hai hook line (Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai), filmed on actors Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor.
“David sir’s brief was ‘sound aaj ke hisaab se ho aur mass ke liye lyrics-composition honi chahiye.’ His vision was to create a larger-than-life song which has mass appeal and at the same time focuses on today’s youth and Gen Z audience, along with nostalgia and a lot of live music. His vision was very clear of a grand festival celebration vibe, and so were the instructions,” says Mohsin.
Earlier, Javed-Mohsin have worked together in Coolie No. 1 (2020), where they composed Hat Jaa Samne Se Teri Bhabhi.
The original song was in the hardcore Indian Bollywood music genre with table-dholak, while they made it in the house music genre with modern and traditional instruments.
“I requested him to come to the studio for a session, and he agreed. We recorded live brass section, string section, back-up vocals, rap and other music. Varun sat in the studio for two nights, and we did everything together to achieve this song. We went to David sir with the final version in the morning, and he was super happy,” he says.
The composer adds, “80% of the lyrics (by Amitabh Bhattacharya) are the same, and other portions have been written by me. Along with nostalgia, we also have rap in the song, which has been sung by Ranj and Earl Edgar. This makes the song very contemporary.”
The voice of original singers Shankar Mahadevan and Hema Sardesai has been used, and original composer Annu Malik has also been credited along with the music-director duo.
On recreating chartbuster songs, Mohsin says, “It’s tougher to recreate a song than composing a new one. There is an advantage of previous popularity, but great risk and a lot of pressure, as one wrong thing and it can be a disaster. We recreated the Ghulami (1985) film song Zihaal-e-Miskin (2023) with Shreya Ghoshal and Vishal Mishra, and it did wonders.”
His music partner, Javed adds, “We are truly delighted with the way the song has come together. It’s close to our hearts, and we believe the audience will love it.”
The musical jodi has last composed the title track of Dhadak 2 (2024) and are next composing for Karan Johar’s production and an OTT film.
