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Time of India
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
'Dhak Dhak' or ‘Abbanee Tiyyani': The iconic Madhuri Dixit song that borrowed its beat from Ilaiyaraaja's Telugu hit
Madhuri Dixit 's iconic ' Dhak Dhak Karne Laga ' from the 1992 film 'Beta' has long been associated with her sensual screen presence and enduring star power. Draped in a yellow satin saree, her performance was a turning point in how Bollywood portrayed female desire and agency. Choreographed by Saroj Khan and sung by Anuradha Paudwal and Udit Narayan, Madhuri's magnetic performance captivated audiences and solidified her status as the 'Dhak Dhak' girl. With music by Anand Milind and lyrics by Sameer, the song became a cultural reference point, etched in the memory of every '90s Bollywood fan. The hidden origin: From Sridevi to Madhuri But what many fans didn't realize for years is that the tune of 'Dhak Dhak' was not original. The melody was lifted from Ilaiyaraaja 's 1990 Telugu song ' Abbanee Tiyyani ' from 'Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari,' which starred Sridevi and Chiranjeevi . Sung by SP Balasubrahmanyam and KS Chithra, the original version carried a romantic yet innocent charm and was picturised in an open garden-like setting, far removed from the overt sensuality of 'Beta.' While the Hindi version became a sex symbol-defining moment, it owed its musical soul to a completely different cultural and cinematic context. A plagiarised tune in the golden age of Bollywood by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like In Nordrhein-westfalen tragen Seniorinnen jetzt diese Sandalen Sandalen im Trend Undo The 1990s are often remembered as a golden age for Bollywood music , but it was also a period rife with musical plagiarism. Music composers like Anand Milind, Jatin-Lalit, Nadeem-Shravan, and Anu Malik were competing fiercely, and many resorted to 'inspired' tracks—often lifted directly from South Indian or international music. 'Dhak Dhak' was one such case where commercial pressure led to a borrowed melody finding mass appeal. Composer's regret, audience's amnesia Years later, Anand Milind admitted in an interview with The Indian Express that they were 'forced' by producers to use specific tunes and that plagiarism was often beyond their control. 'Today, I regret what we did,' said Anand. Despite the regrets, the song's popularity has endured—its origin story buried under decades of admiration and nostalgia.
Indian Express
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Madhuri Dixit's ‘Dhak Dhak': Plagiarised music, CBFC's censorship and the song that originally belonged to Sridevi
For almost all of her career, Madhuri Dixit has been known as the 'Dhak Dhak' girl. Those who follow the movies will know that Madhuri got this moniker after she presented herself in her most sensual avatar yet in the highly questionable film Beta. Her yellow satin saree, flowy hair, and the voluminous earrings that danced with her neck, everything was oozing with oomph. Madhuri knew how to play the girl-next-door but she also knew how to seduce the audience, and she did so with ease in 'Dhak Dhak'. She was in complete control of the song's narrative, and that made her appear even more desirable. The idea of a woman being in control of her sexuality, and using it to her advantage was unheard of, and this made 'Dhak Dhak' stand out. Such was the pop culture impact of the song that even 30 years later, the words 'Dhak Dhak' paint a picture of a barn in one's head where Madhuri and Anil Kapoor are doing just enough to suggest that this won't be a forgotten romance, and of course, Madhuri is doing all the heavy lifting. Choreographed by Saroj Khan, and sung by Anuradha Paudwal and Udit Narayan, the composer's credits here belong to Anand Milind with lyrics by Sameer. 'Dhak Dhak' has been synonymous with Madhuri for over 30 years but this could have easily belonged to Sridevi for she was the first woman to dance on this tune. Like many generations before and after them, those who grew up in the '90s like to believe that their generation saw the best version of Bollywood music. This was the era when Jatin Lalit, Nadeem Shravan, Anu Malik, Anand Milind were all starting to come up and to keep up with the competition, and deliver on the umpteen promises they were making to a plethora of producers, many of them decided to look for 'inspiration'. Well we all know that for most of them, 'inspiration' was a sanitised term for blatant plagiarism and the same happened in the case of 'Dhak Dhak' as well. The music by Anand Milind here originally belonged to Ilaiyaraaja and was heard in the song 'Abbanee Tiyyani' in the 1990 Telugu film Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari. Filmed on Sridevi and Chiranjeevi, and sung by SP Balasubrahmanyam and KS Chithra, this one wasn't filmed in a barn in a sexy fashion. It was also filmed like a love song but was picturised on a hot summer day in a garden-like area. In the years since, Anand Milind have chosen not to address the controversy around the song but have admitted that they 'were forced to' plagiarise music upon the director or producer's demand. In a 2012 interview with Rediff, when they were asked about accusations that they 'picking up tunes from A R Rahman and Illayaraja,' Anand said, 'Out of 1,600 songs that we composed there must be seven or eight that have been accused of plagiarism. We were forced by the producer and director. They just wanted to copy a particular tune that they liked. Today, I regret what we did. I should have put my foot down and refused.' They could have regrets, but that doesn't stop them from enjoying the overwhelming success that this song has enjoyed amongst the millions of people who follow Hindi film music. ALSO READ | 'Immortal' but also 'ridiculous', Javed Akhtar's Ek Do Teen: The numbers song that sounded 'funny' to Madhuri Dixit While the basic tune of the song was the same as the Telugu number, Indra Kumar had thought of designing the song in Beta as a seductive number, much on the lines of Mr India's 'Kaate Nahi Kat Te Din Yeh Raat'. In an earlier chat with SCREEN, lyricist Sameer admitted that the 'hook tune was inspired by Ilaiyaraaja's tune' and he was 'worried' because the original song was a huge hit. The reference point given to him was the Mr India song as he shared, 'Indra Kumar told me that Saroj ji was doing the choreography and Madhuri would be giving competition to Sridevi in that song. As Madhuri is a fantastic dancer, I had to come up with lyrics that would justify the sensuality in the scene.' Sameer recalled listening to the original song and shared that since the beat sounded like a heartbeat, he went with the words 'Dhak Dhak' but the 'ouch' in the opening was Anuradha Paudwal's contribution. While the musical bits of both these songs are almost identical, the visuals are starkly different. 'Dhak Dhak' was the brainchild of choreographer Saroj Khan, who was also responsible for many of Madhuri's iconic dance numbers, including 'Ek Do Teen', 'Choli Ke Peeche', 'Chane Ke Khet Mein'. At the time, CBFC raised a hue and cry about the dance number as they found it extremely suggestive, especially with regard to Madhuri's body movements, and Saroj took it upon herself to actually put up a live demonstration in front of a CBFC panel. In the 2012 documentary titled The Saroj Khan Story, Saroj recalled that CBFC wanted to axe the song, or at least parts of it where they felt that Madhuri's steps were overtly sensual. Saroj shared that in the panel at CBFC sat a woman in a saree and high heels and she recalled her conversation with that woman. 'She told me, 'you are shaking the chest deliberately. We don't like that'. So I said, 'Yes. Ma'am just get up.' She asked why and I said that 'I just want to show you something'. She got up and I asked her to walk. When you are wearing high heels, your hip movement automatically goes (points upwards), whether you like it or not, because you are balancing yourself. I told her 'Now you are shaking deliberately? I have to shake the body to show that I am dancing and she (Madhuri's character) says Dhak Dhak. From where will that sound come? From the heart. And where is the heart? Near my bust line, so I have to show Dhak Dhak (enacts the step). She was convinced and she let us go ahead.' In the film, the song 'Dhak Dhak' appears as a dream sequence for Anil's character soon after he sees Madhuri for the first time. We see him staring at her photo and the song fades in, and the audience is transported to a barn where he is imagining himself being with her. The song has no relevance to the film's plot, and could have been an afterthought, and Madhuri's admission that the song was a 'last minute' addition to the film surely suggests that this was the case. In a chat with Bollywood Hungama, Madhuri revealed that the she shot for the song for five consecutive nights as this was a last minute thing. Even costume designer Anna Singh, who created that alluring look for Madhuri in the song, shared in a 1993 interview with India Today that she was given only 24 hours to come up with the whole look. It has been 33 years since Beta's 'Dhak Dhak' but for Madhuri Dixit, she will be the 'Dhak Dhak' girl for eternity. Sampada Sharma has been the Copy Editor in the entertainment section at Indian Express Online since 2017. ... Read More
