Bringing the ’90s back

After her decades-old music gained attention in the lockdown, Shweta Shetty to present songs from the era at her next gig

Shweta Shetty

It began with a simple joke. Finding themselves locked within the confines of their homes in 2020, Indian citizens turned to music to amuse themselves. Khidki pe aaun na bahar na jaun, kaise mein sara din ghar mein bitaun, sang Shweta Shetty, mirroring a situation that everyone was encountering. Evidently then, it didn’t take time for her ’90s track, Deewane deewane toh deewane hai, to go viral.

“I was surprised to see that the new generation found it to be relevant. Youngsters between the age of 15 and 24 were tagging me on social media with the song,” says the singer, adding that subsequently, her track, Tote tote, also caught their fancy. 

Noticing that there was interest in the music of the ’90s, Shetty was convinced that she’d return with a show that paid homage to the decade, as soon as she got the chance to return to the stage. Come July 1, the singer will serenade listeners with A 90’s Night, where she will recreate a bunch of Hindi and English numbers for the audience at the Royal Opera House.

“I was sure that the new generation needs to know what the music of the ’90s was like. I had enough material for a 90-minute show, so I decided to do this. I wanted to be supported by a band that could play Hindi music, but not like it is traditionally done. I wanted an element of jazz associated with it. I will play acoustic versions of [popular] tracks, and perhaps render Purple rain on the keyboard.”

On her list are tracks like Johnny joker, Poster lagwa do, Tote tote, and Mangta hai kya with “a jazzy twist”. Although she is excited to present her version to listeners, she says singers cannot “deviate from the original iconic number because people will say, ‘Maza nahi aaya’.” “People remember famous songs, as well as the scenes that were attached with them. They will remember how the original was rendered as well, so, if anyone is recreating it, they need to do a better job than the original composer did. That is a tough feat.”

Today in music

June 27, 2009: Black Eyed Peas earned the top spot at the US album charts with The E.N.D. the group’s fifth studio album. The song Boom boom pow topped a Billboard chart for 12 consecutive weeks