Madhuri Dixit’s ‘Dhak Dhak’: Plagiarised music, CBFC’s censorship and the song that originally belonged to Sridevi

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.