2 Recreated Songs Reinforce the Mediocrity that Plagues Bollywood

I just watched the less-than-a-minute teaser songs for the next installment of the Welcome franchise and Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai, and I must say that the content streamed during this attention-deprived watch time was as average as it gets. Come to think of it, Chunnari-Chunnari remains a bit of a contemporary classic. The song was rendered by Alisha Chinai, and it was very different from what we were used to hearing in those days. Add Salman's dance moves to it, and Chunnari-Chunnari became a cult classic without being crowned one. Now, we have our guy, Varun Dhawan, swooning to it, trying to create the same magic, but honestly, he falls flat on his face. When Varun Dhawan arrived, gossip had built into a crescendo - this guy is the new-age Govinda, the next mass entertainer who has been literally groomed at home by the sultan of mass appeal masala movies, David Dhawan. Honestly, I too believed the same. When Varun Dhawan emerged on the scene, stepping away from his Student of the Year space, he created a strong case for himself. He was supposed to be the younger, more agile, and slightly more upmarket version of Govinda. And then, you watch the teaser of Chunnari Chunnari from Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai and derive the conclusion is not difficult at all - it has been more than a decade since Varun was splashed across song-and-dance focused scripts and still, he is no match for Chi-Chi.

He has the abs, he gyrates as well, he can do somersaults even when sipping hot tea served in colonial style, but there is something he just does not have - that something is what Govinda and even Salman had during the late 90s and early 2000s. Every time the phrase "Chunnari-Chunnari" emerged in the original song, there was this little jiggle, a little shake from Salman or Sushmita that resonated so well with the fans. And there were people who were calling Sushmita somewhat plastic and held back as compared to Salman! Now watch the recreated version from Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai, and you realize how good she was and how well she and Salman performed to the choreographer's script. 

The biggest miss in the recreation of Chunnari Chunnari from Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai is Varun's absolute vacuum of any chemistry with the two ladies sharing the dance routine with him - Pooja Hegde and Mrunal Thakur. Now this might seem strange, but try to think of the last few Varun Dhawan movies you watched. Hold on to this thought and quickly recall the first few movies he did with Alia Bhatt. Can you catch where this is going?

When he was this young gun and his movies were delivering impact, he had this on-screen synchronization with Alia - they looked good together, they looked like a pair, and their collective mathematics just made sense. Now, watch the 2026 version of Chunnari Chunnari; it is the exact opposite. Varun Dhawan is as detached a hero as can be from his leading lady or ladies. Despite Pooja Hegde and Mrunal Thakur trying to look good, neither of them dances in a way that matches the beats of the song. Pooja Hegde is a big miss. Her presence in this song just highlights the common perception about her - she has a toned body, she looks great in Instagram shots, and she might act decently too, but owning a dance routine, making your body move to the song so that the lyrics and the beats aren't competing with your tutored dance steps, is still a challenge for her. Mrunal Thakur, whom I do like, seems wasted in the song. Her red dress and a plastered smile just don't have the energy that complements Varun's presence or competes with the original Chunnari-Chunnari. What Salman and Sushmita achieved in the original number stands unchallenged as of today, thanks to the Director and Dance Director of Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai, who have managed to holistically mess up a great opportunity to recreate a truly enjoyable dance number.

Just one more thing about Varun Dhawan before I move on to the next average-as-hell content piece starring Akshay Kumar - Varun seems jaded, uninterested, and lost even in his forte. He has been referred to as the most passionate dancer along with Tiger Shroff, but the energy just is not there. The facial expressions are the same. He needs to visit his Badlapur days - what was the mindset like during those days? Is the 2-second shirtless routine still capable of upselling him as a category B hero, and that too in roles where he has to carry the movie and be the center of attraction of two ladies? Foreign locations don't matter that much anymore - half of Gujarat and Delhi are visiting foreign lands during the summer vacations. Bagpiper armies looking like poorly paid supporting artists or extras don't make us feel superior - half of the UK and perhaps one-fourth of Europe is filled with software Indians, so the visual impact is lost.

Think of Akshay Kumar & Katrina, and memories of Welcome surface in the most unadulterated manner. Now, bet your money on this - 3 weeks after the release of Welcome to the Jungle, the mention of the song 'Uchha Lamba Kad' will still bring back flashes of Akki and Katrina only. Nobody will ever recall the current rendition of the song that has Akshay and Disha Patani trying to impress the audience. Wait. I think I know what the problem is - they are not actually trying to impress anyone at all! They did their push-ups, the make-up, and followed instructions...as simple as that! Why are we even expecting them to simmer something onscreen when it is clear in the song that they are two individually performing artists? Why are they trying to pair someone astronomically younger than Akshay when we have accepted his greying and the Papa Bear complex, where he keeps bestowing wisdom on all younger/junior performers?

Moreover, why are they trying to pair him with Disha Patani, who is undergoing an identity crisis of her own? Is this not the Disha we saw and adored in MS - the Untold Story? Which version of Disha is in the recreated version of 'Uchha Lamba Kad' - the Instagram version that flaunts the minimum wearables, the movie version that pouts, or the one who made us believe she was for real a few years back? I guess the director just did not know. Perhaps it is a norm to pair Akshay with a younger lady. Does he insist on this in his movie contract? We will never know. We do know his penchant for desi ghee and sleeping by 9 pm, but this song has him smoking cigars. Let us deduce this mathematically. He is smoking an artificial cigar, with make-believe smoke, and he is paired with Disha version L [for "Lost"], who looks completely at unease in bandage wraparound costumes. The overall effect? As ignorable and average as the recreated song!