Tunak Tunak Tun (Mid 2000s)

oatscoop@midwest.social to Antique Memes Roadshow@lemmy.world – 292 points – Tunak Tunak Tun Video | Daler Mehndi | Full Song | Daler Mehndi Music
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Daler Mehndi's 1998 music video, in which the singer performs with 4 "clones" of himself. "Mehndi claims his music was often criticized for only being popular due to the abundance of beautiful, dancing women in his videos The singer responded by creating a video that featured nobody but himself." Apparently he wasn't wrong and the song went on to become the "biggest indi-pop hit at the time".

The video caught the attention of the wider internet around 2006. The catchy song, dated visual effects, and absurdity of the "clones" fueled its spread.

On a less fun note: in 2018 the singer and his brother Shamsar were convicted of human trafficking, accused of "cheating people of large sums of money by falsely promising to take them to America" and "illegally sending people abroad as a part of their dance troupes."

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I really shouldn't have read that last paragraph, I was enjoying that weird man.

I believe in the death of the author. This helps me separate the art and the artist.

Bad people do good things and not everyone can be judged by their worst acts.

I wouldn't pay for any of his art anymore, but I still enjoy the songs I have already without guilt.

Death of the author works best when the author is actually dead. It's easier to accept that H. P. Lovecraft or Phil Spector had some pretty terrible moral failings since you know that you're in no way supporting ongoing bad acts.

you are also not supporting the author if you pirate their works :)

Yeah, he seemed cool when the only thing I knew about him was that he rejected the trend of using sexy ladies in music videos to sell more music.

They remastered the video a few years back

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=viMEhOWcxd0

Did they remaster the human trafficking!? That seems like the bigger story...

I can't quite tell what that means from the wiki article-- sounds like he may have been getting people into the US bc they couldn't get visas to go. I have a much different reaction to that than I would if the trafficking involved the other reasons people usually traffick.

If the song slaps, the song slaps. Not removing it from the rotation.

About ten years ago now, a new sports bar/grill opened in my neighborhood, and they had tons of brand new smart TVs all on the same unsecured wifi network. Tunak Tunak Tun was the first classic Internet video we played for the people there that evening.

This brings back so many memories. My Indian homie introduced me to this vid and I would sing it to him when I saw him.

I know it's offensive but this is also supposedly where the whole "Durka Durka" thing started which was then widespread by South Park in 2001. If you listen to it incorrectly it kind of sounds like that's what he's saying when he chains tunaktunaktunaktunak back to back.

I always hears it as more of a "darook darook" but I do remember jamming out to it in the early 2000s.