Kal Ho Naa Ho: It’s time to disco...

Hip-hop, pop, trance, techno, house, Hindi remixes, Bollywood and bhangra. All Calcutta likes is a bit of everything and that’s what it’s going to get, in large doses and for long hours, at the non-stop parties till 2004 dawns.

Nostalgia always spells success, 1983 or 2003, and dancing is the DJ’s mantra. Clubs and nightclubs are pulling out all the stops and bringing on the heavyweight music-mixers for the two last big bashes of the year.

Keeping Calcuttans on their toes all night long is no mean challenge. “Calcutta is very choosy about what it listens to, so you’ve got to be careful,” says DJ Gaurav, the music man at CC&FC on December 24. “You can’t do without remixes and film music. Add some rock ’n’ roll, old disco, Ministry of Sound and bhangra. The tempo should be fast. But it all depends on the mood of the crowd.”

What normally gets people going — from Tantra to Tollygunge Club — are some good ol’ home-grown tunes, with a slight twist. Hindi music is the most popular, but it’s remixes that rule, from Mere naseeb mein to Kaanta laga. King of the category is R.D. Burman, and it’s his tunes that are still rocking revellers, albeit in new formats. Not to forget the British-Asian musicians, with a mix of bhangra and hip hop, like Punjabi MC (Mundiya tu bachke rahe) and Outlandish (Aicha).

But when it comes to the crunch, it’s back to everyone’s favourite: Bollywood. The one song no party can do without in this the last week of 2003 is It’s time to disco from Kal Ho Naa Ho, with It’s magic from Koi… Mil Gaya a close second.

Beyond Bollywood boundaries, Enrique Iglesias, Shakira, Beyonce Knowles and the rest of the pop league, of course, can’t be far behind when it’s time to get into the groove, with the likes of ABBA, Boney M, disco diva Gloria Gaynor and John Travolta-trademark Stayin’ Alive setting the festive mood.

“There has to be a bit of everything, to please everyone,” observes DJ Harish, resident music-maker at Dublin, ITC Sonar Bangla’s pub.

“While remixes are undoubtedly the favourites, particularly golden oldies from Bollywood, some old English songs are appreciated just as they are. On Christmas Eve, there have to be seasonal tracks, like Jingle Bells — remixed, of course — and Last Christmas, by Wham. But on New Year’s Eve, all the hits of the past year are played.”

The faster the better for youngsters, and it’s retro, catchy numbers for the older age-group, feels DJ Lloyd of Tantra.

While remixed Christmas carols were also on the agenda for the December 24 do, DJ Sethi, of The Park nightclub, points out that since it’s one of the few destinations for some hardcore trance and techno, it has its own select draw.

So, just mix ’n’ match the music and dance all night.