MUMBAI — The promotional rollout for filmmaker David Dhawan’s highly anticipated comedy entertainer, Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai, has hit a turbulent patch. The makers officially dropped the recreated version of the 1999 cult classic track, “Chunnari Chunnari – Let’s Go!”, featuring Varun Dhawan, Mrunal Thakur, and Pooja Hegde. However, the song’s release has not been the celebratory moment the producers hoped for. Instead, it has landed directly into a swirling vortex of intense legal threats, corporate finger-pointing, public trolling, and blistering criticism from the original track’s legendary singer.
What was supposed to be a nostalgia-fueled marketing engine has exposed deep-rooted creative and ethical fractures within Bollywood. The track faces severe resistance from multiple fronts: a bitter copyright battlefield over intellectual property rights, furious 90s kids who feel their childhood memories have been ruined, and scathing remarks from veteran artist Abhijeet Bhattacharya.
The Eye of the Storm: The Copyright Tug-of-War
The most severe roadblock for the song stems from an escalating corporate war between two massive film production houses. The controversy ignited when veteran producer Vashu Bhagnani, head of Pooja Entertainment, accused the film’s makers of unauthorized use. Bhagnani produced the 1999 blockbuster Biwi No. 1, directed by David Dhawan and starring Salman Khan, Sushmita Sen, and Karisma Kapoor, which birthed the original track.
According to Bhagnani, while the absolute audio rights of the music were sold decades ago, the digital video rights and visual representations remain firmly under his company’s control. Bhagnani claims that using the songs without explicit consent is a massive ethical breach and a violation of intellectual property laws. In an emotional self-made video broadcast shortly after the track’s promo launch, Bhagnani lambasted the producers:
On the opposite side, Tips Music Limited and producer Ramesh Taurani have aggressively pushed back, stating that they are the absolute and lawful owners of the relevant copyrights. Tips Music shocked the industry by revealing that they had anticipated trouble and secured legal cover from the highest authority in the land, obtaining relief via an order from the Supreme Court of India.
“Sounds Like a Bhajan”: Original Singer Abhijeet Fires Shots
Adding heavy fuel to the fire, veteran playback singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya, who voiced the iconic 1999 original alongside Anuradha Sriram, publicly slammed the new version. Known for his candid and unfiltered takes, Abhijeet voiced extreme disappointment over how the energetic, flirtatious anthem was re-arranged by Akshay Raheja and Abhishek Singh.
Abhijeet joked that the new composition stripped the song of its soul, turning a high-octane romantic dance number into something completely unrecognizable. “When I heard the song, I thought it was a bhajan,” the singer quipped to reporters, referencing devotional music.
However, his sharpest barbs were aimed squarely at the film’s lead actor, Varun Dhawan. Abhijeet called out the actor for building a career out of “second-hand” remakes of older blockbusters, particularly those directed by his father, David Dhawan:
Abhijeet also revealed that the production team never reached out to him or original music director Anu Malik before reworking the track, adding that he is ultimately glad he wasn’t involved because his legacy would have been “degraded.”
Internet Backlash: 90s Kids React with Fury
As soon as Tips Official uploaded the music video to YouTube and social media platforms, the court of public opinion delivered a swift, brutal verdict. While choreographer Remo D’Souza attempted to inject modern energy into the visuals with high-budget sets and sleek dance moves, audiences felt it paled in comparison to the electric, organic chemistry of Salman Khan and Sushmita Sen.
Social media feeds were quickly flooded with memes and angry comments from fans who accused Bollywood of creative bankruptcy. “It must’ve been insanely hard to mess up a masterpiece this badly,” read one highly upvoted comment on YouTube. Another viewer added, “Thanks for destroying a cult song. Not even 1% of the original vibes.”
The contrast between past and present was magnified by a recent viral moment from the “David Dhawan Film Festival.” At the event, superstar Salman Khan himself took a playful public dig at Varun Dhawan, jokingly telling the audience, “Isne mera ek aur gaana uthaya” (He has stolen yet another song of mine), referring to Varun’s past reliance on re-recording Salman’s smash hits like Chalti Hai Kya 9 Se 12 and Oonchi Hai Building for the Judwaa 2 remake. While Varun was seen blushing and laughingly pleading with Salman to stop, the internet has used the clip to highlight how the new generation continues to rely heavily on 90s nostalgia.
Looking Ahead to the Box Office
Despite the severe internet trolling, the financial dispute, and the disapproval of the original artists, producer Ramesh Taurani remains unfazed. The production house has firmly asserted that theatrical schedules will remain entirely unaffected.
Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai is still locked and loaded for its worldwide theatrical release. Whether the mountain of negative publicity and legal drama acts as a deterrent or helps fuel curiosity at the box office remains to be seen. However, one thing is certain: the conversation surrounding Bollywood‘s relentless obsession with recycling its past glory has been reignited, and the audience’s patience with remixes is wearing thin.