DJ Khushi Soni on creating the hit 'Burjkhalifa' and his love for Dubai

DJ Khushi Soni is feeling on top of the world nowadays. Or, rather, on top of the Burj Khalifa! The Bollywood spin doctor - most famous for his Chammak Challo remix from Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra.One - turned composer with the hit track Burjkhalifa featured in Akshay Kumar’s upcoming film Laxmii, due for release in the UAE on November 9.

The catchy song, shot in Dubai and conceptualised around one of the world’s most iconic buildings, Burj Khalifa, has already racked up more than 85 million views on YouTube. City Times caught up with DJ Khushi to find out what inspired him to create Burjkhalifa and how he feels about it turning into such a massive hit, one that has spawned fan videos from around the world.

“It is so overwhelming and phenomenal for it to have such a great response and it feels amazing! It has been a tough year. With everyone staying home to be safe, social life has gone down close to zero, and suddenly this song came out of nowhere and brought so much happiness into people’s lives!

“I have thousands of people sending me fun videos from all over the world - every day I get tagged by kids as young as one and a half, to people who are 90 years old! It’s great to have been able to put people back into the party mood and given them something to look forward to.”

In awe of the Burj Khalifa

Khushi said he was inspired to come up with this track because of his love for Dubai and his fascination with the Burj Khalifa. “I come to Dubai very often as the city has always welcomed me with open arms and I have had great opportunities and success here. Every time I visit I am always in awe of the Burj Khalifa, as it’s the only building in the world which I actually have to strain my neck to look all the way up at, because of its beauty and grandeur.

“When I got back to India from one of my trips, I was so inspired that I told my partner Shashi we should come up with a big hit, and it needs to be as big as the Burj Khalifa, with nothing else coming close! Our lyricist Gagan Ahuja caught onto that thought and said ‘why don’t we just make a song about the Burj Khalifa?’”

Khushi said it was “great” to be able to give back something to Dubai by creating this song, as the city “had given him so much over the years.”

He was full of praise for Dubai. “I have been coming here since I was a kid, when Dubai didn’t look like this. My family used to be there every 10 days, at which time it was mostly Bur Dubai and old Dubai.

“I have seen the city evolving into a dream - it has something for everyone with the highest quality, and the highest standards of safety, beauty, technology. It’s so inspiring not just for me, but for the entire world.”

Shout out to KT readers

Akshay Kumar starrer Laxmii will be out in the UAE next week, the first major Bollywood film to release amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Is Khushi excited about fans watching Burjkhalifa on the big screen?

“I really wish Laxmii would have released theatrically in India as well which would have made it a much bigger hit - and even our song would have been much bigger!

“But I’m so glad it is releasing in UAE cinemas - I expect that it will get a great response. I hope I can watch it in Dubai as it was always a dream of mine to see my own song on a big screen. If any Khaleej Times readers are planning to watch it on the big screen, please do send me videos and tag me on Instagram as it would make my family and I really happy.”

Big love for SRK

Khushi, who is known as Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘official DJ’, is all praise for the Bollywood superstar who he said “played a big role” in his success. Already famous for Chammak Challo, we asked Khushi if there was any other track from Shah Rukh’s vast movie repertoire that he would love to remix.

“During the lockdown I started doing online parties on Instagram live. I though music would be a great relief for people during these tough times. At every party I would do different genres of music; for one particular party I thought I would do a Shah Rukh Khan special.  But when I looked at his body of work and list of songs, it made me realise why he is ‘King Khan’.  He had more than 150 songs that I was ready to play (even after shortlisting)! When you see his body of work you realise why he is who he is and why he deserves to be where he is.

“It would be unfair to select one song but if I had to remix something I think the Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge album would be something I would really really love to be a part of because the music of that film just changed everything. I would love to be a part of either re-creating it or remixing it.”