Remix II

The censor board was jolted into action earlier this year, questioning the propriety of desi thong song, Kaanta Laga. Novel in its brazen display of aggressive female sexuality, the remixed number brought in big-time cash for record label T-Series. The fact that the super-hit video was on heavy daytime rotation was also a point of concern for the censors.

The threat of cuts hasn’t deterred other record labels from entering the raunchy remix space. “Ultimately, the public wants to see these videos and we’re earning money, so why should the censors stop me?’’ asks Tips’ managing director Kumar Taurani, whose company produced the Yeh Mera Dil video. “I have a job to do too,” he adds.

With labels aggressively pursuing this genre of videos, even established artistes are being forced to conform. “I’m unhappy with my video but what could I do when my company kept asking me to do it,” says squeaky clean singer Falguni Pathak, whose latest effort Mera Kajal, by Universal, has steamy scenes of a girl being bathed in milk by her girlfriends. ‘‘The company says these videos sell today, but I’m not going to do anything like this again.’’

With the local music industry facing a severe slump, not every musician is complaining about the steamy remix phenomenon. ‘‘Because of these songs’ success I ask for a lot more money these days,’’ says Sushvati Phukan, who sang the remixed version of Kaliyon Ka Chaman and Kaanta Laga. ‘‘I’m a newcomer and remixes have helped me break through,’’ adds the 28-year-old, who earned a modest Rs 7,500 for her work on the two mega-hit tracks.

No one has gained more from the raised raunch bar than engineering student Shefali Jariwala, who shot to national fame as the star of the infamous Kaanta Laga. ‘‘At first I couldn’t handle the attention but now I think it’s cool,’’says the 20-year-old, who mesmerised male audiences with her routine which included having her chest stamped with paw marks while entering a club. Jariwala has begun talking about venturing into Bollywood, but insists that she’ll never do an item-number. “I don’t want to be stamped,” she explains.

Which is fine, because the paw marks will be hard to rub off.