Speaking forcefully to news agencies, the veteran musician—who voiced the original mega-hit opposite Anuradha Sriram—pulled zero punches. He deeply criticized Varun's long-term career positioning, directly taking a swipe at his constant reliance on inherited 90s nostalgia and legacy properties originally made famous by superstar Salman Khan.
The Burning Assessment: "He Can't Become Salman Khan"
Abhijeet's core frustration stems from what he perceives as a lazy, repetitive pattern governing Varun’s marquee film portfolio.
The Second-Hand Label: "The actor has only done second-hand films, especially when his father (David Dhawan) directed the original films," Abhijeet stated bluntly. "He also uses the same songs that were once a hit."
The Stardom Equation: Reminding trade circles of the massive baseline difference between the two generation blocks, Abhijeet noted: "This song was the biggest hit of Salman Khan's life. At that time, he was a rising star, not yet a superstar... Varun Dhawan cannot become Salman Khan by using my songs. There is a big difference between Salman Khan and Varun Dhawan."
The Relational Jibe: Speaking to entertainment desks later in the day, the singer went even further to color the stylistic gap, drawing a sharp, hilarious comparative timeline: "The difference between Salman and Varun is akin to the difference between Amitabh Bachchan and Asrani."
From Romantic Dance Track to a "Bhajan"
Beyond evaluating the star's brand layout, Abhijeet launched a devastating review of the track’s updated audio architecture, which has been newly arranged by Akshay Raheja and Abhishek Singh:
“Neither the music composers working on the new version nor the film's director had reached out to me. They didn't have the courage to tell me... Chunnari Chunnari was originally a romantic track, and they have now turned it into a bhajan! They made a wise decision by not retaining my voice. Varun Dhawan can't do justice to the song I sang. He would have received brickbats.”
The singer added that even if the production machinery had formally approached him for permission, he would have likely declined the layout to proactively protect the historical integrity and long-term legacy of the 1999 original.
Tying Into Vashu Bhagnani's Legal Offensive
Abhijeet’s volatile remarks arrive at the absolute worst public relations moment for Tips Films and producer Ramesh Taurani. The track is already heavily trapped within a massive corporate copyright feud. Veteran producer Vashu Bhagnani—who held the initial rights to Biwi No. 1—recently held an explosive press conference accusing David Dhawan of a severe ethical breach, alleging the song was integrated into the new film without his explicit final consent.
Bhagnani even hinted that the 48-hour delay that forced the sudden cancellation of Varun's trailer launch last week was actually triggered by high-stakes legal blocks moved over this very track, making the entire musical rollout a highly controversial asset just days before hitting theatres.
SantaBanta Verdict:
Abhijeet Bhattacharya has always been Bollywood’s most unapologetic straight-shooter, and this critique exposes a very real, growing public fatigue regarding lazy, assembly-line nostalgia remakes. While Salman Khan himself chose to neutralize the song dispute last weekend by casually teasing Varun on stage ("isne mera ek aur gaana utha liya"), the original artists are clearly not in a laughing mood. By aggressively labeling Varun’s choices as "second-hand cinema" and mocking the new remix as a slow "bhajan," Abhijeet has amplified a critical digital narrative. If music lovers and 90s purists choose to back the original singer's stance, the Dhawan camp might find that recycling legacy hits carries a much steeper box-office cost than they anticipated.
