28 Years of Mohra EXCLUSIVE: “When Anand Bakshi told Rajiv Rai about ‘Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast’, we thought it’ll look cheap. However, Anand ji explained, ‘Yeh toh daaru ki bottle ke upar gaana hai’” – Shabbir Boxwala 28 : Bollywood News

Mohra, directed by Rajiv Rai, was released 28 years ago, on July 1. And even today, the popularity of the song ‘Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast’ is intact. It considerably helped in enhancing the buzz of the film. It also boosted the careers of Akshay Kumar and Raveena Tandon, who featured in this song, and also Viju Shah, the music composer of Mohra.

28 Years of Mohra EXCLUSIVE: “When Anand Bakshi told Rajiv Rai about ‘Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast’, we thought it’ll look cheap. However, Anand ji explained, ‘Yeh toh daaru ki bottle ke upar gaana hai’” – Shabbir Boxwala

Bollywood Hungama exclusively spoke to Shabbir Boxwala, the production designer and co-screenplay writer of Mohra, to find out how was this song conceptualized. To which, Shabbir Boxwala revealed, “When Anand Bakshi told Rajiv about ‘Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast’, we thought it’ll look cheap. However, Anand ji explained that he is not degrading a girl. He said, ‘Maine ladki ko dekh ke yeh gaana nahi socha. Yeh toh daaru ki bottle ke upar gaana hai’! So if you concentrate on the lyrics, ‘Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast, Nahi Tujh Mein Koi Hosh Hosh’, it suits the alcohol aptly. That was the thinking of Anand Bakshi. Nobody can match him.”

Shabbir Boxwala then explained why the film was shot in secrecy, “We knew that the song is going to become a hit. So, we shot it last in Filmalaya Studio. Those days, there used to be a fear that the song would get leaked and somebody might copy it. Hence, for key songs, they used to not even allow outsiders on the sets.”

Product placement and brand endorsement were also in vogue those days. A popular alcohol brand almost became a part of this iconic song. However, they declined the offer. Shabbir Boxwala said, “We were supposed to a tie-up with Bagpiper for this track. However, they backed out. Later, when the song became a chartbuster, the Bagpiper person told us that it was his life’s biggest mistake to turn down the tie-up!”

Also Read: BREAKING: Tridev, Mohra director Rajiv Rai returns to direction