Masakali

Release

The song was released as part of the soundtrack album of the film on 14 January 2009 at the Indian Idol 4 competition. The first video of the song "Masakali" was released featuring Sonam Kapoor and Abhishek Bachchan with a pigeon. However, the song was not part of the original film. According to the director, "The song was not really meant to be part of the narrative. I mean, who would think of putting in a song about a dove in a film like Delhi-6? It just happened. When I came to the pre-climax portion of my script, I was stuck. I needed a continuity link taking the narrative to its finale".

Reception

Chart performance

The song got excellent responses and soon became the chart topper of the year. It ranked #2 in the 2009 top songs list of The Times of India. They commented on the song, " This expressive number from the film Delhi-6, sung by Mohit Chauhan, bowled people over. An AR Rahman composition, it's a free flowing, addictive, fun song. Masakalli is still being played on music channels and radio and it's expected to stay with music buffs for some time to come, owing to its joyful mood." The song topped the Indian charts for more than 34 continuous weeks and was declared as the most successful song of that year.

Awards

The song along with the soundtrack album, swept all the major music awards of the year. It emerged as the biggest winner in the Airtel Mirchi Music Awards - 2009 by winning the following categories.

• Best Song of the Year
• Best Music Director of the Year - A. R. Rahman
• Best Male vocalist of the Year - Mohit Chauhan
• Best Lyricist of the Year - Prasoon Joshi
• Best Song Arranger and Programmer - A. R. Rahman

Criticism

In an interview about the lost literary elements of songs, ghazal singer Jagjit Singh dashed out against Prasoon Joshi for using the word "Masakali". He says, "Do you understand the meaning of "Jai Ho" or "Masakali"? I did not understand." (The former song is Academy Award-winning work by Rahman and noted poet Gulzar).

In popular culture

• A popular kurti style adapted the name of the song.
• A remake, "Masakali 2.0" which was recreated for 2019 film Marjaavaan, but was released on 8 April 2020 as an independent single, performed by Sachet Tandon and Tulsi Kumar and recomposed by Tanishk Bagchi.

References

References

1. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090122070559/http://www.indianfilmdom.com/delhi-6-audio-release-function-on-indian-idol-4-event-gallery-video 'Delhi-6′ Audio Release Function On Indian Idol 4] Retrieved on 2009-02-09
2. [http://movies.indiainfo.com/2009/01/08/0901081249_dove_song_in_delhi-6_was_not_planned_rakeysh_mehra.html Dove song in movie was not planned] {{webarchive. link. (10 January 2009)
3. (10 January 2009). "Delhi 6 ~ Music in stores on January 14".
4. (31 December 2009). "Top 10 Bollywood songs of 2009". [[The Times of India]].
5. (4 January 2010). "Chor Bazaari top song of 2009". [[The Times of India]].
6. Feb 11, Updated. "Celebrating the sound of music".
7. Balaji Vittal. (10 April 2009). "Jazzing it up!". [[The Hindu]].
8. (12 June 2010). "What's in, what's out". [[The Hindu]].
9. (10 April 2020). "Hansal Mehta slams 'Masakali 2.0': It is an insult to the original creator - Times of India".