The Remix review: Amazon Prime’s new reality show is a good mix of surprise and fun despite some bad singing

Get ready to amp up that volume on your phones, let your hair down and party like never before on this dose of Bollywood numbers which actually transport you into EDM zone. Amazon Prime Original’s latest music reality show, The Remix, is a good mix of surprise and fun, despite some really bad singing — so bad that it will make you appreciate even Salman Khan’s besura “main hu hero tera”. Yet, this show simply rocks and how. They say content is king. But here, the format is the new king that rules over every flawed participant. There are 10 teams of two partners each. The pairs comprise of a DJ and a singer. They take a Bollywood song, the duo brainstorm over the theme and the international spin they want to give it, the DJ comes up with the scratch and voila, we have our own party floor in full swing with some kick ass performances. The cool graphics, the professional lighting which will put the bigger budget TV shows to shame, the well designed sets at par with international standards, and the best costumes which deserve an award any day; makes The Remix a thoroughly enjoyable show.

For starters, Sunidhi Chauhan as a judge brings more oomph with her very pregnant self (episodes shot last year), as she makes a lovely entry in a mustard yellow gown, singing a remix version of her hit song ‘Udi’. Though the new version is no match for the original song, her confident voice and cute presence is enough to get you into the mood for a different sound of Bollywood music as the rather tepid host, Karan Tacker, puts it. The next judge, Amit Trivedi, is simply delightful in his rendition of ‘O Gujariya’ and you instantly want to cheer with “ONCE MORE”. Nucleya, the very happening DJ known for his strong bass electronic music, is the third judge whose technical observations of each participant is quite sharp and astute. The ten teams include some known names like Manasi Scott, Akasa Singh, D J Kiran and Yash Narvekar. There are other interesting participants like the Tibetan singer Sonam Topden, and NSG with his 17 years’ experience as DJ across the world. When NSG paired with Thomson make their debut in the first episode with their version of Honey Singh’s Love Dose and Nucleya gives them a standing ovation, they set just the right anticipatory tone for more exciting music to follow. One of the highlights was the wonderful performance by Candice and Sreeram, to the remix version of ‘Senorita’. As Suneedhi rightly comments, “This was hot. It was like a party.” The best song from the first competition round in the second episode was by Rashmeet Kaur and Su Real who give a classical twist to ‘Zinda Hoon Main’. The classical notes “sa, re, ga, ma” actually sound as fun and sexy as Rashmeet’s hot, red outfit and that’s quite the innovation for the young listeners out there to help appreciate Indian classical music. Another favourite is Yash Narvekar and Kyll’s beautiful, outstanding jazz rendition to ‘Tu Bole, Main Boloon’ from Jaane Tu Jaane Na, in the second episode. [caption id=“attachment_4386375” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Rashmeet Kaur and Su Real on the show The Remix/Image from Instagram @rashmeetkaurofficial.[/caption] The album choices by most teams, ranging from Desi Boys, Sheela Ki Jawaani, Aashiqui, Golmaal, to Rock On, are rather boring and barely do much for the original numbers. Most of the singers, especially Anirudh Bhola and even the popular Akasa Singh, are quite disappointing with their weak voices. The entire credit for making the music sound good goes to the Djs who are their creative best. Thankfully, this format has no unnecessary emotional drama or rivalry built up between the contestants. The judges are equally balanced unlike the overbearing and over the top Kirron Khers or Karan Johars of TV reality shows. Neither the host or the participants go through the predictable motions of scripted flirting or flattering with the judges. The focus is on simply having a ball. Hopefully, the next 9 Fridays of this very refreshing reality music dose of The Remix, will keep this party rolling.