Review of Priyanka chopra’s desi version of wham! Last christmas

My honest reaction when I first heard a clip from the ‘desi’ version of Last Christmas was that it’s probably an ad or a parody of something. A few minutes later, the algorithm gods blessed me and my social media feed was all about this video. Still don’t know what I am talking about? Okay, let’s listen and watch this gorgeous looking video before we dive into some intrusive thoughts which you shall read.

So we all know that there are Christmas covers of a lot of songs, and then now there’s whatever Priyanka Chopra just did to “Last Christmas.” It’s sparkly. It’s very dramatic. It’s a little confusing as well to me, but somehow, it’s completely impossible to stop watching it. It’s like someone added a degi mirch tadka to my risotto, it’s like that one packet of Kurkure I open on binge watching night where I will not stop cursing myself, reading its ingredient list YET not putting it down. I have a strong reaction to this desification of Last Christmas because it is one of those iconic numbers that were a part of what is now my childhood. My mother would keep singing Wham! Songs to me, one by one, and a little me, in the hope of learning and picking tunes, would repeat words and add them to my daily lexicon.

I want to take a moment and firstly talk about the killer collaboration we get to listen to. Priyanka’s smooth, controlled vocals meet the beautiful talent of Anoushka Shankar. This version is a cocktail fit to represent transcontinental glamour. It is a full on global pop experiment. Watching PC croon the lyrics in Hindi and English is imagining her auditioning for a rom com that is going to be written and directed by Richard Linklater and Imtiaz Ali. It’s the kind of festive music that is hovering between art and cringe for me, and I don’t mean it in a bad way at all. And I will tell you exactly WHY. the thing is, we don’t tolerate intellectual cringe anymore, rather, we celebrate and start enjoying it.

This version has actually dared me to stop pretending I am too intellectual or too cool for it, and just shut up and let it play in the background as I choose my dinner recipe to try. It is the kind of pop chaos that is gloriously global and reminds me that the holiday season is all about being EXTRA.

So yes, Priyanka Chopra’s “Last Christmas” might be a global pop oddity, but I firmly believe that it is exactly why it works. It’s festive chaos, it’s global glam, it’s Priyanka after all, and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I feel if Christmas had a passport and a penchant for drama, it would sound exactly like this.