Our misfortune that Dev saab is upset: Ramesh Sippy

Mar 24, 2011 IANS

Mumbai, March 24 (IANS) Dev Anand is upset with the makers of the forthcoming movie "Dum Maaro Dum" for using his cult song of the same title in it. Producer Ramesh Sippy has clarified it was a issue of timing and it's their misfortune that the legend is upset with them.

The popular song "Dum maaro dum" from Dev Anand's 1971 super-hit movie "Hare Rama Hare Krishna" has been re-arranged and used in Sippy's "Dum Maro Dum", which is directed by his son Rohan. The new version has weird lyrics, new music with an underlying feel of the hit song and has been picturised on Deepika Padukone.

"Yes he (Dev Anand) is upset, but we have the rights of the song. It would have been nice if we had his blessings too but there was some timing problem. Before we could take his blessings and show him the song, the news was in the press and therefore, he go upset. There was no way of having him pleased with it then. That's our misfortune," Sippy told reporters Thursday at the sidelines of the FICCI-Frames conclave.

Starring Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu and Prateik Babbar, the crime thriller is slated for an April 22 release.

Sippy, known for directing cult film "Sholay", which was later remade by Ram Gopal Varma, said initially they did not plan to use the "Dum maro dum" song in the film.

"When we started the film, we didn't intend to use the song in the film. We took this title because our film was about drugs and how youngsters today are lured by them and fall for them. We hadn't decided on the song ('Dum maro dum') that time whether we would use it or not. Later, we decided on that," explained the 64-year-old.

"There is a thing with iconic songs. When you take such a big hit song for your film, if you take it in the new film as it is, people ask what extra effort have you put in? But if we change it and add our own inputs to it and give it a different colour, then people say you have tampered with a classic song. So this conflict will always be there," he added.

Coming to the film, isn't Sippy sceptical about the public turnout owing to the Indian Premier League matches around the time the film will be released?

"Definitely, some effect it will have, but I feel 'jab film mein hoga dum toh phir kaheka gum' (When the film is good, then why worry)," laughed Sippy.

"We are happy that the film is creating waves and people are curious to watch it. At least people are talking about the film, conflict or no conflict," he added.

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