‘Twist’ versus ‘Dhan Te Nan’ – The battle of the retro songs

By Subhash K. Jha -

July 28, 2009 - 11:28 AM IST

It's Shahid versus Saif in the charts. And if Shahid is jiving to Vishal Bhardwaj's 'Dhan Te Nan' in Kaminey, Saif grooves to 'Twist' in Love Aaj Kal as though there's no tomorrow.

As far as listeners' choice goes, Vishal's track has a marked market edge, and Pritam has no qualms in admitting it. "I'm the biggest Vishal Bhardwaj fan, no two ways about it. His 'Dhan Te Nan' is awesome. I can't stop listening to it. I wish I had composed it," says the exuberant composer.

Says Pritam, "Never before have two dance numbers been so closely competitive in the charts. The fact that both Vishal's 'Dhan Te Nan' and my 'Twist' have an old-fashioned sub-layer just goes to prove, retro is back."

Both tracks have a ravishing retro feel to it. While 'Twist' has borrowed its main riff from Hemant Mukherjee's Nagin, the main hook line in Vishal's 'Dhan Te Nan' sounds suspiciously similar to the opening musical interlude of Laxmikant-Pyarelal's 'Hai Hai Yeh Majboori' from Manoj Kumar's Roti Kapda Aur Makaan.

While Pritam's 'Twist' openly acknowledges its debt to its source material, Vishal pooh poohs the suggestion that his 'Dhan Te Nan' bears any resemblance to the older song.

Vishal does agree though, that Love Aaj Kal is the main competition for the music of Kaminey.

However, the two current chartbusters, bumper-to-bumper hits of the kind not seen for a very long time, have more in common than it first appears to the eye ...and ear.

And only one of them will finally pull the product beyond the finish line.