Fanney Khan: How two versions of the 'Achhe Din' song croon the reality of our times
Emotions are slippery. So is judging the times that we are living in.
When the second version of the song "Achhe Din" from Fanney Khan was released, a multitude of questions popped up, especially because of a previously released glum version of the same song.
For the uninitiated, the makers of Fanney Khan — starring Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Rajkummar Rao — have released two versions of one song in their film. The first version titled "Mere Achhe Din Kab Aayenge", stars on a low-spirited note, asking a very basic existential question, perhaps the character (Anil Kapoor) just wondering aloud if things would change someday, if someday his miseries would end, if at all?
However, many on social media started "targeting" the Modi government. The reason being "Acche Din" also happens to be the political slogan that Narendra Modi put into effective use with promises of "Achhe Din Aane Wale Hain" during the 2014 general elections.
As expected, the release of the song saw two sides whipping up a political debate over the song, forcing the makers of the movie to release the second version, "Acche Din Ab Aaye Re". Some reports even suggested that the makers may pull down the original track. However, director Atul Manjrekar has clarified that they did not change "Mere Achhe Din Kab Aayenge" to "Acche Din Ab Aaye Re" under any pressure. Both the versions are part of the film.
According to Manjrekar, "Achhe Din Ab Aaye Re" was always part of the film, but he also admitted that the song was initially slated to be unveiled only after the movie hit the theatres.
"But we cut a new video and released it now because our song was unnecessarily taking a political colour. It didn't strike us that this is also the slogan of the government. We didn't expect such a reaction. Fanney Khan is a simple film about a cab driver and his dreams. I hope people see the song in the right context and not misconstrue it," he was quoted as saying by Mid-Day.
While it's difficult to believe Manjrekar when he says it didn't strike the filmmakers that "Achhe Din" is also the slogan of the BJP government, the debate stirred by the song is baffling for a different reason.
Modi dissenters saw the first version of the song as an opportunity to corner him while his supporters felt vindicated with the release of the second version. In the heated discussions over freedom of speech, or the lack of it, what went unnoticed is how slippery our emotions and their portrayals are.
The filmmakers may or may not have been aware of the "impact" of their song — in all likelihood, it was just another smart move to promote the movie — but they have surely given us a lot to ponder about emotions, the importance of both good and bad days, and the realisation of that. The presence of all kind of opinions. And, most importantly, about optimism and the consequential pessimism. Or, do we say pessimism and the resultant optimism — who knows which leads to what, or which follows what?
Just like there is no one truth about time, emotions too are not set in stone. We can be both happy and sad, and at the same time. So why grudge a song?
For all those who feel the PM's critics are unnecessarily targetting him over the song, there is something called perspective — and that's one thing no one has a control over. Everybody tends to take a different perspective from everbody else. It's not important for everybody to have the same the perspective of life, what is important is to learn to see things from another's perspective as well.
It’s a bit unnerving: how we make everything about ourselves and the people we love and idolise. What we see as ideologically correct and morally incorrect. The times that we are living in are indeed strange. So strange that we don't even spare a song, or the unsung meaning of it.
By the way, without being too criticial of the music composers, "Khuda Tumhe Parnam Hai Sadar" anyway sounds like two versions of one prayer, too much effort to sound temporal.
But perhaps that is what music is all about.