If you haven’t seen the reels that feature singer Dua Lipa’s performance in Mumbai, you must be living under a rock. It was also a dream come true for DJ Ruchir Kulkarni on Saturday night.
Renowned for his widely shared remix, Levitating x Woh Ladki Jo, Kulkarni was ecstatic when Lipa performed the mashup live, surprising him and leaving the audience speechless.
“While the performance was going on, I was just hoping and praying for her to play the song. I had my doubts, but then it happened! It was such a big moment for me, and an unforgettable one. I was shocked, and so was everyone around me. I am still in complete awe!” the DJ from Mumbai says in an exclusive interview.
The remix was created in 2021 and combines Lipa’s Levitating with the well-known Shah Rukh Khan song Woh Ladki Jo from the 1999 movie Baadshah. Kulkarni struggled with the structure at first, but a year later he went back to it and, with his friend’s assistance, created an improved version that went viral on social media.
When asked why he picked the song, the 33-year-old replied, “It’s a tribute to my ’90s childhood and my love for SRK.” “I knew I had to combine it with something that spoke to me when Levitating was all over.”
His social media following has skyrocketed after Saturday’s performance. Nearly 400–500 mentions have been made, and I have overnight garnered 5,000–6,000 followers.
“It’s been a huge lift,” he continues. With well-known acts like Maroon 5 and Coldplay scheduled to perform in India, Kulkarni is already planning his next mashup songs. “Now that I have some ideas, I’m eager to get started on them,” he concludes.
The singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya’s son, Jay Bhattacharya, shared his worries on Instagram, writing: “I’m sure when @dualipa heard this song she must have heard it and not seen it and not appreciated the man that has sung this song and yes it is not SRK.“