| "Chammak Challo" | |
|---|---|
 Kareena Kapoor dancing for the song | |
| Single by Akon and Hamsika Iyer | |
| from the album Ra. One | |
| Language | Hindi, Tamil |
| Released | 21 September 2011 |
| Recorded | 2010 |
| Studio | YRF Studios |
| Genre | World, pop-folk, R&B, synthpop, filmi, Bollywood |
| Length | 3:46 |
| Label | T-Series |
| Songwriter(s) | Vishal Dadlani, Niranjan Iyengar, Giorgio Tuinfort |
| Producer(s) | Giorgio Tuinfort |
| Music video | |
| Chammak Challo on YouTube | |
"Chammak Challo" (Punjabi: Flashy Girl) is a song performed by Akon and Hamsika Iyer, and composed by Akon, Giorgio Tuinfort as well as music director duo Vishal–Shekhar (Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani) and by Gobind Singh, as a part of the soundtrack for the 2011 Bollywood film Ra.One. It is Akon's first musical collaboration with Indian artists. There are four other versions of the song in the album, including a remix by Abhijit Vaghani, another remix by DJ Khushi and an international version sung solely by Akon.[1] The song, along with the rest of the soundtrack, was officially released on 21 September 2011.[2] However, the song faced controversy when the rough version was leaked on the Internet on 31 May 2011.[3]
"Chammak Challo" was dubbed as the "trademark of Ra.One's publicity campaign". The song was named the most downloaded song and video of the year in India in a survey by wireless telephone major Airtel.[4] It was rated as the best item number of 2011 in a Mid-Day poll.[5] The song also topped the Mirchi Top 100 charts as the song of year.[6] "Chammak Challo" also entered the Top 10 "World Songs" list of iTunes in eight countries, reaching No. 1 at three of them.[7] Due to the extremely positive response for the song, Akon decided to branch out and make tracks especially for Bollywood projects and wanted to have a dedicated branch to produce music for Bollywood with local talent.[8] Subsequently, Akon received a nomination for Best Male Playback Singer at the 2012 Filmfare Awards.
- ^ "Ra.1 M.R". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
- ^ "Big One: Shah Rukh, Bebo unveil Ra.One album". NDTV. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
- ^ "Shah Rukh Khan sues a jewellery brand". Hindustan Times. 18 August 2011. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
- ^ "Chammak Challo most downloaded song". Movies.ndtv.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
- ^ Hitlist, The (14 December 2011). "I instantly fell in love with the track". Mid-day.com. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
- ^ "Chammak Challo is No.1". The Times of India. 2 January 2012. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012.
- ^ "Chammak Challo by Hamsika Iyer, Vishal-Shekhar & Akon Chart Summary". Music-Chart.info. Archived from the original on 6 January 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
- ^ "Ra.One songs take Tamil listeners by storm". The Times of India. 15 October 2011. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2011.