Here’s why Besharam Rang reminds you of half a dozen Bollywood numbers: From Salaam Namaste to Ghungroo

Ever since the first track from the Pathaan album titled Besharam Rang dropped, the song has been receiving huge attention. Yes we do get a shirtless, ripped Shah Rukh Khan, but it is a sensual, bikini-clad Deepika Padukone who does most of the work, carrying the song on her slender arms. Shot in Spain, the song has an immediate vibe of losing all sense of modesty and enjoy the moment with careless abandon. Fans were instantly reminded of another song that had a similar vibe- Ghungroo, the track from War, which starred Hrithik Roshan and Vaani Kapoor. It ain’t a coincidence if you look closer- Pathaan and War are from the same director Siddharth Anand. Both songs also come from the table of music director duo Vishal-Shekhar and lyricist Kumaar. The biggest of all similarities is singer Shilpa Rao- whose tempered, electric vocals provide both the songs with that immediate hook of remembrance. (Also read: Pathaan song Besharam Rang: Deepika Padukone serenades Shah Rukh Khan in exotic Spain, fans ‘can’t handle their hotness’)

One would imagine whether Siddharth Anand sits with Vishal-Shekhar and Kumaar in the studio and discusses about a new track for the film and instantly Shilpa Rao comes to the rescue. There you have a track that has to match that vibe of walking through foreign picturesque locales and carelessly throwing in the Carpe Diem context- better to seize the day rather than remain under the facade of modesty. It is a trick that has worked every single time. Well, it started with Salaam Namaste with the title track- remember a young, shirtless Saif Ali Khan running around Preity Zinta, asking for an embrace because time will fly nevertheless. Then came Bachna Ae Haseeno that gave us a soulful Khuda Jaane with Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone romancing in the beautiful cities of Venice and Naples in Italy.

This was the first in the long collaboration with Shilpa Rao that would consistently give us these romantic, sensual tracks about the passion and thrill of loving someone. Cue for Siddharth Anand’s next Anjaana Anjaani starring Priyanka Chopra and Ranbir Kapoor again, but this time the subject matter was a tad bit serious to even attempt a show of reckless passion. Anjaaana Anjaani which still shocks for dealing with suicide in such lighthearted fashion, had a track called I Feel Good. Again with Shilpa Rao, this track was quite different from the rest of the club of songs but had the same subtext of companionship and thrill. Then came Bang Bang, with Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif turning on the heat in Meherbaan hua, romancing in Greece. Shilpa Rao was again the constant voice powering through the urgency of female desire.

There you have it, how Besharam Rang is but the newest addition that is bound to be a earworm. It is packaged and moulded from the same template of songs that have stayed on our playslists long after the film’s release. The combination of Shilpa Rao, Vishal-Shekhar, Siddharth Anand and Yash Raj Films at the helm of it, one can never go wrong with that conceit of glamour and romance. Bedharam Rang follows the same combination of vocals, aesthetic locales and a sizzling actor at the forefront owning her desires with nonchalance and glamour. No complaints registered, as long as the song gifts us, with such periodic consistence, the unabashed joy of surrender to love. Let the purists say otherwise, one can always agree to feel a little shameless with the person we love.