Coming up on Friday May 6th, is Luv Ka the End from the new banner Y-films. Over the weeks leading up to the release we have shown you that the projects Y-films is going to make are not your average filmi films. They are different in vibe, in story, in actors, in directors, and well in Item numbers! We are talking about The Mutton Song, which is most definitely one of the most unique item songs ever done. Check out what went into creating this crazy but fresh number!
THE IDEA BEHIND THE MUTTON SONG
This song was not a part of the plan. We were going to a have a seduction song in the climax where the heroine takes down the bad guy and that was it. The concern was that it was becoming too clichéd. Too been there, done that. At Y-Films, we didn’t wanna do that. So we just went ahead and did away with that. We created something that the world will refer to as the reinvention of the item number. This is the kinda stuff the girls will love to watch. But don’t mistake this for an attempt at just humour. Catch debutant actor, Taaha Shah spring a surprise of sexiness to this video with his superb dance performance. He is going to put many hot ladies to shame in Bollywood.
THE MUTTON SONG – HOW IT WAS MADE
The way this happened was a silly joke that the music director, Ram Sampath was playing with and he wanted it to be treated in a very rasta/street like manner. But, the film’s producer Ashish Patil latched onto it. And we were on our way to recording the Mutton song. But we needed words. And that came with Amitabh Bhattacharya’s insane lyrics.
THE LYRICS OF THE MUTTON SONG
Amitabh Bhattacharya, one of the biggest lyricist sensation in recent times was brought in to weave the words. When the words happened, Amitabh cracked the shayiri first. The rest of the words were classic Urdu, qawalli like. But there was something in ‘Multiplex mein mehkhana’ that made it so ‘Item’. The play between English and Hindi was crazy. So we decided to ditch the Urdu and Amitabh cracked these outrageous lyrics that got recorded. These have been unheard of. The writing smacks of eccentricity and is just the work of pure genius.
THE VOICE OF THE MUTTON SONG
The Mutton song had weird music lyrics and a tharki beat. But it now needed a voice. Krishna Beura was roped in to add to the mayhem. We wanted someone who had a powerful qawal voice, yet had the funky English touch. And we were aiming very high with this track. Including the pitch of the voice. Krishna took it to an altogether new level with his rendition of the lyrics. While singing, he would go,”Ab mujh mein Altaf Raja ka bhoot aaya hai” and he would do a version like that. It worked. And then, there would be some more. 5 versions happened. In the song, a mallu waiter happened. A Chinese martial artist happened. A goat’s sound happened. This is all Krishna’s doing. Rendition after rendition, the song was evolving into something new. Something that had never been tried before. The regular lines like ‘Hit it one more time’ became ‘Serve it one more time’ with the waiter angle. This was one wicked recording. And that’s how the biggest item number of this century was born.
THE VIDEO OF THE MUTTON SONG
Taaha is quite the “method actor”. He left no stone unturned to make sure he nailed the Mutton Song specially since he was competing with Munni and Sheila. But that’s not how it began. It started with the styling. We tried at least 5 different ghagra cholis on Taaha Shah before we locked the final one. Some we rejected because they were too close to Kajra Re. During look tests, we wanted to show more cleavage, show off his hairy chest. At this point, Taaha was slowly learning to let go of his inhibitions. And then, suddenly, the pouting happened. Taaha did it and then there was magic. Taaha’s make-up room was far away from the location. Initially, he was given a bathrobe to wear and come to the location for the shoot. But, after a point, he lost his inhibitions and his bathrobe. He started flirting with all the crew and making faces at them. Since the shoot was in a hotel in Thane, there would be times when Taaha would get into the elevator with a regular family. And then, he would pout, bite his lips. This saw the rise of a far more professional actor in a debutant like Taaha. He had suddenly turned into a method actor. He started living the role. And he charmed many while he did this.
THE CASTING OF THE MUTTON SONG
Thanks to the choreographer, Adil Shaikh, the casting for the Mutton song added a most unexpected layer. The song is a landmark item number because it is a tribute to all the iconic item numbers that have preceded it. Some of the classic extras from vintage item number extras are a part of this video.
Take Bulbulji for instance. He was the guy with the afro singing “kullu kullu” on Laila mein Laila. Or Deepakji from Hothon pe aise baat mein churake chali aayi. The Mutton song is special for so many reasons. If other films are bringing back old songs with new remixes, Y-Films is bringing back the performers from those times. That&’s how you pay a tribute.
THE MUTTON SONG – EXTENDED
Initially, the Mutton song was supposed to be briefly shot. The plan was to shoot just the first verse. But once the video happened, it was certified mental. No one had ever seen such a thing. Or done it for that matter. The sexiness and the craziness of the song asked for more. Everyone got so excited that we went back and shot the rest of the song. And that’s how half kilo mutton became full kilo mutton.
