Tamma Tamma Again: Varun-Alia step into Sanjay-Madhuri's dancing shoes with authority

Back in 1990, ‘Tamma Tamma’ from the film Thanedar was arguably the last chartbuster of music composer Bappi Lahiri’s disco era. The 1990’s ushered in a new era of romantic comedies. Thus, Shashank Khaitan’s upcoming rom-com Badrinath Ki Dulhania literally proves to boast of a ’the past meets the future’ as Lahiri’s iconic song has been blended with EDM to recreate the song, rather than rehash it. [caption id=“attachment_3277944” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt in a still from ‘Tamma Tamma Again’. YouTube[/caption] ‘Tamma Tamma Again’ banks on two piping hot trends - encashing the success of a popular old number (accompanied by Badshah’s rap of course) and the Mannequin Challenge that became the ‘it’ thing last year. But to the makers’ credit, they use both the trends intelligently rather than just vomiting them all over the screen. The EDM has been used in sync with the Mannequin Challenge in the otherwise average rap sequence of the song. Since the songs offers various drops, the Mannequin Challenge serves as a great tool to bring to light the still vs fast-paced movement that the song experiments with throughout its duration. Tanishk Bagchi’s remix makes you groove and at the same time, makes you nostalgic as it transports you to the original song featuring Madhuri Dixit and Sanjay Dutt. What remains missing is the sequence that Dutt and Dixit performed using chairs as the props. We fervently hope that the sequence has been saved for the film as it was a crucial part of the original. Lahiri and Anuradha Paudwal’s vocals have been retained in the song which works as effectively as in the lead couple’s first disco song of their career, ‘Disco Deewane’ from Karan Johar’s Student of The Year. Nazia Hassan’s rendition of the chorus was retained in the rehashed version. ‘Tamma Tamma Again’ also retains the original lyrics by Indeevar and also has the legendary RJ Ameen Sayani’s vocals peppered all over it. Sayani’s familiar voice introduces the viewers to the song in a setup that feels like he is introducing the next song of the radio. Sayani’s signature vocabulary has been inserted in just the perfect junctures of the song. Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan are excellent, not only because both are gifted dancers but also because they seem to be having cartloads of fun while dancing on a song that has pretty much been a significant part of their impressionable years. Also, the art direction, coupled with Bhatt and Dhawan’s chemistry and Badshah’s rap, takes us back to their hit, ‘Saturday Saturday’, from the prequel Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania. There are also similarities to the title song of Badrinath Ki Dulhania, including the establishing shot of the song, the humongous set and the splash of colours across the screen. The disco lights, at some junctures, get so overpowering that they eclipse the fluent moves of the lead couple. Nonetheless, ‘Tamma Tamma Again’ does full justice to the original as it is well aware of its limitations to rehash the song but at the same time, tries its best within its capacity to present it in fresh light. Also, some dance classes by Madhuri Dixit and a pep talk with Sanjay Dutt lent a good helping hand.

The one and only @duttsanjay is all heart!Felt so lovely to show him the song and see his reaction! Love him!! #TammaTammaAgain @Varun_dvn pic.twitter.com/YUZ1jY9TEf

— Alia Bhatt (@aliaa08) February 10, 2017

Badrinath Ki Dulhania is produced by Johar’s Dharma Productions and is slated to release on 10 March.