There are several hit film songs that have originated from folk songs that have been popular for decades. When one thinks of examples “Mere Angane Mein” (‘Laawaris’) and “Munni Badnaam Hui” (‘Dabangg’) serve to one’s mind. The composer and the lyricist often make a few alterations to make sure that the folk song, in its new avatar, appeals to a pan-India audience and its popularity does not remain restricted to the region it has been prevalent in.
The latest entrant to this club of recreated folk songs is “Zilla Hilela”, a recreated version of a popular folk song from Bihar. The folk song was earlier recreated by composer and lyricist Ashok Kumar Deep as “Aara Hile Chhapra Hile” for the Bhojpuri film ‘Khoon Pasina’. “Zila Hilela” finds a place for itself in the Sidharth Malhotra – Parineeti Chopra starrer ‘Jabariya Jodi’. The song has been picturised on Sidharth and Elli AvrRam and has been composed/re-created by Tanishk Bagchi. The lyrics have been penned by Shabbir Ahmed and Tanishk Bagchi.
The song is sufficiently groovy and the video, too, makes a good impression. As the film is set in Bihar, the inclusion of this song is certainly a good decision by the makers.