How Bollywood Gave Britney Spears Her Greatest Hit

“Toxic“ deconstructed: A musical analysis of how Bollywood and James Bond fueled Britney Spears’ 2003 hit song. We spoke to classical Carnatic vocalist Manasi Prasad and classically-trained composer Adam Ragusea about the link between Indian music and spy music, and how these sounds are expertly weaved together in “Toxic” to create a campy pop masterpiece. From its instrumentation to its harmonic structure, “Toxic” is no ordinary pop hit. You know exactly what song it is as soon as you hear those high-pitched orchestral violin riff — that undeniably catchy hook that makes “Toxic” a DJ staple even today, over 15 years after its release. The secret to the song’s infectious hook, though, lies farther back than the early 2000s — long before Britney Spears, and even before Bloodshy and Avant, the hit-making duo behind the song’s production. The song gets its signature orchestral arrangement from Indian music, specifically from an ’80s blockbuster Bollywood movie “Ek Duuje Ke Liye.” The instantly r