bulleya lyrics Amit Prakash Mishra was recently in his hometown Lucknow. “I was really tired with my back-to-back jigs and was also feeling homesick. So whenever I feel creatively blocked, I book my tickets for Lucknow, come here, have maa ke haath ka khana, meet my friends, ride my favourite bike, recharge myself and then go back,” shared the Bulleya singer in an exclusive chit chat with us. Recently given his voice for the song Ole Ole 2.0 in the Saif Ali Khan starrer Jawaani Jaaneman, Amit talked to us about the trend of remixes and recreations, comparisons between retro and the contemporary numbers and his favourite genre – ghazals... Tell us about your latest release ole Ole 2.0 which is a recreation of another Saif Ali Khan starrer Ole Ole. Ole Ole 2.0 is a recreation of the iconic song Ole Ole. The original track was the EDM of that era and this one has been recreated using EDM in the present time. We have changed the introduction of the hook music, plus lyrically too there are several changes in the song. So this is how it is a recreation and not a remix. Created by Tanishk Bagchi, the best part about this song was that I got to sing it with a singer like Abhijeet Bhattacharya, who was the singer of the original song. What I also loved about the song was that even I got to sing it for Saif Ali Khan. This was another very good advantage for me. Most singers, who either singer the remixes or recreate an original number are compared more because they do not get to give their voice for the same actors. If we go by the music industry trend, the trend for remixes/recreations has increased in the past few years, whether the songs are from Hindi music industry or Punjabi. Remixes/recreations are not a trend started by the music directors instead they are made because there is a demand for them by the listeners. Also, I don’t think there is any harm in remixing evergreen songs, especially if it is a good money making opportunity for the music director. It is a simple demand and supply thing. If the listeners reject remixes, composers will not make them, simple! Also, earlier, only retro songs were remixed but now if we see, there is a trend of remixing the not-so-old numbers too. Plus, for a music director the biggest challenge is to first remix an old number and then make it a hit, which thankfully most music directors are able to do today. They are able to maintain their dignity plus add value to the original track remixed. Take the case of the recent song Humma Humma, both the original and remixed ones were equally loved by everyone. And so there are so many other examples like these. Amit Prakash Mishra and (inset) Saif in Ole Ole 2.0 which was sung by Amit (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav) So are today’s songs evergreen? Yes, who says today’s songs are not evergreen, they very much are! The way we hear old numbers today, even the generation later will cherish and listen to our tracks which are popular today. Musically and lyrically we haven’t degraded but I think we have upgraded only. Our lyrics even today are at power if not more to the retro numbers.Yes, musically to an extent, I agree we do not always devote so much time on songs as earlier the time taken to release movies and songs were comparatively less than what it is today. And ek baat bataun, pehle bhi ek movie ke dus gaanon mein se chaar ya paanch gaane hi hit hote thay. So it is not as if all the songs were superhits in the 60s and the 70s. So as a singer, what is your favourite genre? Well, surprisingly, it is ghazals. Even the last played songs on my mobile are ghazals. Though the trend for ghazals has faded these days, there are a few filmmakers and music directors who are continuing to keep the it alive. Take for example the case of Vishal Bhardwaj, he makes sure to have a ghazal in his movie which is also loved by everyone. I just wish, we could have more ghazals in movies today which also get appreciated by the listeners so that more and more music directors are encouraged to make them. I love ghazals like Phir Le Aaya from Barfi and Guncha from Main, Meri Patni Aur Woh. You know the interesting parts about ghazals, while music directors want to take risk with ghazals, filmmakers do not. Whenever I come to Lucknow, my playlist to unwind has maximum ghazals from Jagjit Singh and Pankaj Udhas.