Akshay & IP’s ‘Choli Ke Peeche’ for the ‘Crew’ Soundtrack is a Hit Reimagination

Anytime a Nineties Bollywood hit is recreated, remixed or remade for a new movie, opinion is often divided. Was the formula ever supposed to work? Music duo Akshay & IP’s version of “Choli Ke Peeche” featuring vocals by Diljit Dosanjh for the heist movie Crew, however, passes the test as a reimagination that offers a new take on the ‘Khal Nayak’ song sung by Alka Yagnik and Ila Arun.

The rhythmically hypnotic “Choli Ke Peeche” from 1993 was made by composer duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal so it was perhaps only apt that another musical duo took on the task to go in a new direction. Composer-producer Akshay Raheja and singer-songwriter and composer IP Singh gave “Choli Ke Peeche” a reggaeton twist with adrenaline levels that match the movie’s pace.

Speaking to Rolling Stone India, the duo discussed how their first-ever project for a Bollywood soundtrack turned out to involve reimagining a Nineties classic, but they were up for the challenge. Raheja says they were clear from the start that this wouldn’t be a remix. “We also understand it’s an iconic song – that is where we also wanted to maintain the integrity, the legacy of the track. We ended up using the original vocals of Ila ji and Alka Yagnik.” he adds.

They brought in more beats, added Punjabi lyrics and now, “Choli Ke Peeche” has over 75 million views on YouTube and over 17 million Spotify streams since it released in March. “It’s surpassed whatever we’d expected from it,” Raheja says. Singh adds, “We knew we were doing a reimagining, so our aim was, even if we get abused, it should still be something we liked making.” The track initially got a good amount of enthusiasm from the makers of the film, which was a confidence boost for Akshay & IP. The duo also created songs like “Sona Kitna Sona Hai” and “Darbadar” for Crew, whose soundtrack also includes artists like Bharg, Vishal Mishra, Badshah and B Praak.

While Raheja and Singh were together in the pop-rock band Faridkot in their early days, the New Delhi-origin artists have been friends since 2008. While Singh continues to thrive with Faridkot and as a singer-songwriter for commercial songs, Raheja has gone on to be part of rock band Them Clones and the electronic-pop duo Dehlvees with vocalist and sarangi artist Suhail Yusuf Khan.

Raheja says that there’s often magic between them that helps them churn out material when they sit down to create music together. He adds, “We like the process a lot and we never think of the results. When one person starts, we’re sure the other person will take it in the right direction. We’re very open about the feedback we give each other.” Singh says, “It’s the comfort and it’s the space that makes this work. And I think it’s also beyond me and Akshay, sometimes when you’re making music with someone, it just comes out. Stuff just clicks. Maybe it’s because we know each other for a long time, maybe it’s because it’s something that god has blessed us with and we take that very happily and grab it with both hands.”

Working on more songs for feature films and OTT shows, along with independent releases, Akshay & IP are also working on music for fashion designers, as they did for Masaba Gupta recently. Raheja adds, “Now that we’ve found a new set of listeners [after ‘Choli Ke Peeche’], we have to constantly evolve to the next level and make things better.”