While there is no dearth of new music coming up every day, some songs remain so evergreen that they can get you grooving even years later. And in an era of remixes, touching these songs is always a gamble – you could either end up getting a rave reception or be condemned forever for ruining a perfectly good classic.
Singer Benny Dayal from Kerala took the chance recently with the iconic Urvasi number by AR Rahman. The 1994 song from the Tamil film Kadhalan has survived the test of time and continues to be a favourite. So when Benny picked this song to experiment, he had big shoes to fill.
However, his mashup of Urvasi with Pettarap from the same film and Khaled’s Didi seems to have hit the right note, as the listeners’ reactions show.
Titled ‘Project Urvasi’, listen to the foot-tapping track here.
The other artist with whom Benny has collaborated with for the project is his schoolmate Jasim. In an interview to Susanna Myrtle Lazarus for The Hindu, Benny said, “We’ve been singing together since then (school days), and he also produced my last track, ‘Rhim Jhim’. We hope everyone will enjoy it.”
This new spin on Urvasi has mostly received positive reviews with prominent people from the music industry like Vishal Bhardwaj, Shalmali Kholgade and Neeti Mohan also applauding the song.
Yo, check this! @Benny_Dayal & Jasim put a super-hip spin on Rahman's "Urvasi" & Khaled's "Didi". Smashed it, gents!https://t.co/UOUGr8jBNS
— VISHAL DADLANI (@VishalDadlani) October 27, 2017
Everything just changed right now.. why ? Just heard @Benny_Dayal and #Jasim s new single #ProjectUrvasi https://t.co/CB5qNfcwdh #LISTENNOW
— Shalmali Kholgade (@itsShalmali) October 26, 2017
Benns!!! SWAG tera Urvasi
— Neeti Mohan (@neetimohan18) October 27, 2017
This got me groovin and how! Loving it & looping it #ProjectUrvasi by @Benny_Dayal and Jasim https://t.co/qI4wHbqTG3
Nostalgia rebooted https://t.co/8HeNXCFJyh
— Goldie (@smilezrus) October 26, 2017
The worst thing about Project Urvasi is that it ends too soon. https://t.co/21sMJnvkse
— Sonia Thomas (@SoKneeOh) October 26, 2017
And honestly, who better than Benny Dayal to redo Urvasi?
— Sonia Thomas (@SoKneeOh) October 26, 2017
This is so groovy and @Benny_Dayal sounds magical.. Earworm :) https://t.co/XYfzTYFJcM
— Mrinalini Sundar (@MrinaliniSundar) October 26, 2017