“How Can I Be Happy When Mungda Is Converted Into A Circus?” Rajesh Roshan Hits Back…Hard

The  well-known  music composer Rajesh Roshan’s  most popular song Mungda from  the  1978  film Inkaar  has  found a new  avatar in  Indra Kumar’s  Total Dhamaal.

And Rajesh Roshan is  not amused.

But wait. Didn’t  Rajesh Roshan  give his blessings to the new version  of   Mungda? At least, that’s what  the  Total Dhamaal team claims.

Sighs Roshan,  “What can one do  if they reach out to me asking for  blessings? These are youngsters who have worked with me  in  the past. Should I’ve told them they don’t have my blessings? The proper thing  to do would have been to first ask my  consent  before  remixing Mundga.”

The composer who shone brilliantly in the  1970s and 80s with unforgettable songs in  Julie,Doosra Aadmi, Man Pasand, Swami and Mr Natwarlal, says there is little he can do  to stop such  vandalism. “The law is against us music composers. We  have no legal control  over  our compositions.  Music companies are selling  our songs  to  producers at  throwaway prices.We are helpless.  Indra  Kumar(director, Total Dhamaal) has gone  on-record to say his  version of  Mungda in  Total Dhamaal cannot compare with  the original. Then why do it? Why repeatedly  resort to this  kind  of  inappropriate conduct? Earlier  my Yaaraanachartbuster Sara zamana hasenon ka deewana was  also re-mixed without asking me.What can I  do?Except  quietly smile  about it.”

   Roshan says  he  is  completely out of tune with the  music required  in today’s  films. “Nowadays  producers bring in  4-5  composers, one  for each track. How can we have a multitude of composers  to do one soundtrack? Where  is  the  homogeneity? I remember when the  great  composer  Madan Mohan  had suddenly passed away, the producer-director H S Rawail has approached me to  complete three of the pending songs in the Rishi Kapoor-Ranjeeta starrer Laila Majnu. I refused saying I am not worthy  of sharing  a soundtrack with a genius like Madan Mohan Saab.”

Roshan says the Mungda re-mix has caused  a certain amount of  embarrassment with theMangeshkar  family. “I am very close to the whole family  including Ushaji who  has sung Mungda .Lataji has sung some of  my finest songs. We used  to  have huge arguments  while recording.  I remember she  objected  to the lyrics in the song Wada na tod from  the  filmDil Tujhko Diya.I argued back , pointing out the lyrics  of  her  song Ae ri jaane na doongi  composed by my father Roshan in  Chitralekha. She  understood my point of view and sang the chartbuster. Evergreen songs are not  made overnight. They are cultivated and nurtured and  born out of creative  conflicts.You can’t pluck a song  out of its context and  use it anyhow.How can I be happy when my  songs are converted  in a circus?”