EXCLUSIVE: Varun Dhawan gets ‘MUQABLA’ music rights from Bhushan Kumar and Prabhudeva to groove to the SUPERHIT dance track

By Upala KBR -

December 23, 2019 - 9:57 AM IST

The remix of the popular chartbuster ‘Muqabla’ from Tamil movie Kadhalan (1994) has been recreated for Remo D Souza’s Street Dance 3D. The song, which released on Saturday, has Prabhudeva grooving with Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor and is already climbing the chartbuster track rapidly, with over 30 million views in just two days. Interestingly, it was Varun Dhawan himself, who suggested that Remo get ‘Muqabla’ from producer Bhushan Kumar into the movie to give it a cool twist with choreography by Rahul Shetty. The star is clued into everything about movies and apart from being a talented actor; he has a great music sense. Varun, who is known to be a brilliant dancer, wasn’t originally a part of the track but got roped in later. ‘Muqabla’ is produced by Bhushan and Liselle D Souza.

EXCLUSIVE: Varun Dhawan gets ‘MUQABLA’ music rights from Bhushan Kumar and Prabhudeva to groove to the SUPERHIT dance track

Remo says, “There was always a song for Prabhudeva for whichever film I do. This time we were thinking of which song to do when Varun told me that Muqabla is with Bhushanji. I asked him how he knew so he said Bhushanji has the music rights of Prabhudeva's two songs - 'Urvashi' and 'Muqabla' for music videos and Varun's requested Bhushanji not to use 'Muqabla' and instead give the song rights to us for Street Dancer 3D. That’s how we got the song and once I got it, because it’s a remix, an iconic song composed by the legendary AR Rahman saab so it has to be done very aesthetically. The positive thing was that we had Prabhudeva himself doing the song. The song comes at a situation where his dance has to happen. We were to shoot the song in Dubai and as soon as I started taking the first shot there, I didn’t feel good. It’s an iconic song and it has to go bigger than what we are thinking. I cancelled that shoot, went back to Mumbai as I wanted to do it in a grander way. We came back, planned it properly and then we shot for it. Shraddha was already there as part of the song and Varun wasn’t there. But he was very keen to be part of it as he wanted to dance with Prabhudeva in such an iconic song. He said, ‘How can I miss the chance of not being there?’ So for the promotional bit we added one sequence where Varun is dancing with Prabhudeva.”

The director says that ‘Muqabla’ is a tribute from his side. “We have kept the original track, the same music, the same choreography and same outfit as Prabhudeva had worn. Nothing was changed as Rahman saab and Prabhudeva combination was killer then and still is. The only thing I did myself was that in the original he vanishes and only clothes are dancing. In this song, I have made all the dancers vanish and him remain.”

Varun Dhawan says, “That man (Prabhu sir) is a legend and so is AR Rahman. This is the original music of every street dancer in our country and if you can hear the beat then anybody can dance.”

Bhushan Kumar adds, “’Muqabla’ is Prabhu sir’s iconic dance track and getting a chance to revive for my home production was overwhelming. The audiences have welcomed the song so well. When Remo shot for the song with Prabhu sir the situation demanded a dance sequence along with Shraddha too. Being one of the most important tracks of the film, we requested Varun also to be a part of a small dance sequence making the team performing on the song complete. And look at the magic created onscreen.”

Choreographer Rahul Shetty, who has acted in ABCD and choreographed ABCD 2 and now Street Dancer 3D (along with Kruti Mahesh), says, “It’s a great moment for me. I was excited to work with Prabhu sir, Varun and Shraddha but it was challenging also because we were doing the same song again. The hook step that we have created is inspired from the original one but also has a new touch to it. It was easy and tough for Prabhu sir, Varun and Shraddha but it went really well. Remo sir told us that we have got Prabhu sir to do ‘Muqabla’ himself so I was scared, nervous and scared at the same time as there was a lot of pressure as you cannot go wrong anywhere – I was working with three great dancers. Remo sir’s brief was that it has to be the best song of the album. Prabhu sir dances like a 24-year-old boy and his memory is very sharp. I choreographed the song in less than three hours, he came, saw it, asked me to teach him, picked it up in an hour or so and left. He is very quiet on the sets, learn like a student, give his shots and go. He won’t tell you anything and is extremely supportive.”

Talking about Varun’s entry into the song, Rahul adds, “It’s about Shraddha, Varun and Prabhu sir’s team in Street Dance 3D. Originally, ‘Muqabla’ was only about Prabhu sir and his team and Shraddha and her team being a part of the song as it forms a part of the narrative. But everyone, including Varun, was very keen to be a part of this iconic song and perform with Prabhu sir so it was a collective decision to have him do the hook step with Prabhu sir. This kind of dance is not going to happen again, so everybody requested Remo sir to be a part of it. Shraddha and Varun rehearsed the hook step very fast and we shot it in the same day. They have been rehearsing for a year, so they dance like professional dancers now as they are dancing with the best dancers of our country.”

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