Chhaayaageet #284: "Sir, I cannot come. I am in a meeting."
“I am in a meeting.” Dreaded words for anyone in a corporate job. Or maybe it’s just one dreaded word. Meeting. An event that evokes relief, and occasionally joy, when it is cancelled. But not today. The meeting is on. It’s just another day for you and me in the paradise. Paradise. Any place would be a paradise compared to this conference room late in the evening.
The young man tries to avoid being distracted but his mind races to escape the conference room, jumping from one memory to another.
Zip…to Abu Dhabi. His schooling days with friends. His formal training as a Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, and Mohiniattam dancer. And then suddenly discovering he could sing. Friends telling him they liked his dancing but preferred his singing. Winning competitions.
Zap…to Madras. Madras Christian College. Singing and winning inter-collegiate competitions. After graduating he had enrolled in a diploma in journalism just so he could stay on campus and be connected to the music scene.
Zip…to his group of friends in Madras with whom he had formed rock bands. Making music until music could be made.
But now the mind, like a wild and unruly horse, takes a dark turn.
Zap…to Bombay. Pleading to music directors for an opportunity. Knocking on doors. Waiting outside studios. Anything to sing, even if it is in the chorus. Anything to be inside the studio. “You will never be a playback singer,” a music director had screamed in his face.
Zip…to his room at home. Dark days, darker nights. Slipping into depression. Sitting at home and brooding for hours. Father just had an open-heart surgery. Can’t tell them anything. But no money for food. No money to cut a demo disk to share with music directors. Wondering is this how the dream of becoming a singer ends.
Suddenly he hears his senior, Pavan’s voice in the meeting. Zap. The mind comes back into the conference room. Pavan. Thankful to him for he was the one to get him this HR job in this company. At least getting a paycheck.
Zip…to first week on the job. Three days into the job getting a call from a music composer. The one whose door he had not even bothered to approach for a chance, because they said it’s too difficult to even meet him. The composer had noticed him when he was singing some Christian devotional songs. Random chance. He had gotten to sing some songs in South Indian films of the composer. The composer had also recorded some scratch tracks with no film or hero in mind. Its difficult to sing without knowing which hero to sing for.
Suddenly he is brought back into the real world. It is his phone that’s ringing. Everyone looks at him. He looks at the phone. It is the same composer. He mumbles an apology to his colleagues and steps out of the conference room.
“Can you come tonight? I have this song for you for this Hindi film,” the composer says from the other side.
“Sir, I cannot come. I am in a meeting,” he says with dread.
“Oh man. This is a really nice song. Anyway, we will need to find someone else to sing it,” the composer says matter-of-factly.
The young man is silent. Tears starting to well in his eyes, he does not know what to say.
“You need to quit that job,” the composer says and hangs up.
This song could have been his debut song in Hindi films. And he is stuck here in this HR meeting. Really, should he just quit his job like the composer had said and just go straight to his studio? No, he needs the job. He goes to the restroom, finds an empty stall, sits on the throne and just cries inconsolably. After some time he goes back to his desk and just slumps into the chair. The mind is blank. No more zips and zaps.
A few weeks later, the composer calls again.
“Are you free? Can you come? I have another song for you for the same film,” the composer says.
This time he can. And this time he knows exactly the hero he is singing for. He is going to sing it in front of the hero who is also in the studio. The hero has specifically requested the composer to call the young man for this song. Paradise.
Benny Dayal sang Kaise Mujhe in the film Ghajini (2008), along with Shreya Ghoshal, music by AR Rahman, lyrics by Prasoon Joshi. The song is filmed on Aamir Khan and Asin, who also made her Hindi film debut with this film. The film is written and directed by AR Murugadoss, based on his Tamil film of the same name which released in 2005.
AR Rahman wanted Benny to sing the song Behka Behka, however, Benny could not leave work. When the music of the film was in production, one day, Rahman played the scratch track of Kaise Mujhe for Aamir Khan. It only had the melody and no words. Rahman had recorded the track in Benny’s voice months earlier and it was not intended for any film.
This song situation is not in the Tamil version of the film. However Murugadoss and Aamir Khan decided they needed a song. They asked Rahman for ideas. Rahman gave them 5 or 6 tunes, one of which was the melody of Kaise Mujhe recorded in Benny’s voice.
Aamir Khan loved it immensely and said to Rahman that he wanted the same singer to sing the song. During recording, Aamir wanted this romantic song to feel sad. He instructed Benny to not make it a happy romantic song. See the BTS video of the making of this song below, a must watch.
Prior to the release of the film, the first song released was Guzaarish sung by Javed Ali (with Sonu Nigam humming). It was received with a lot of love. The next song released was Behka Behka sung by Kartik. It was also immensely loved. And then the entire album was released. The reception for Kaise Mujhe was muted and even panned by critics as an extremely boring and dull song. However, once the film was released, the song was massively loved and took on a cult status.
Years later when Benny Dayal traveled to Abu Dhabi, the immigration officer looked at his passport and said, “Kaise mujhe…Kya khoob gaaya hai aapne.” Kaise mujhe…how marvelously you have sung the song.
Ghajini became the highest grossing film of 2008 and the first Hindi film to cross the 100-crore mark, effectively starting the 100-crore club. It went on to become the highest grossing film of all time until it was surpassed by 3 Idiots. The soundtrack album of the film became the best selling album of the year.
2008 also saw Benny Dayal singing Pappu Can’t Dance and Nazrein Milana for Rahman in Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na.
Benny won the Filmfare for RD Burman Award for New Music Talent for Ghajini and Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na. The film also won Filmfare awards for Best Debut (Asin, won), Best Action (Peter Hein, won). Other nominations included Best Film (Murugadoss), Best Director (Murugadoss), Best Actor (Aamir Khan), Best Actress (Asin), Best Supporting Actress (Jiah Khan), Best Music Director (AR Rahman), Best Lyricist (Prasoon Joshi for Guzarish).
Benny regards Kaise Mujhe to be his most difficult song to date both emotionally and technically.
This is a must-watch video of the making of the song, with Murugadoss, Prasoon Joshi, Aamir Khan, AR Rahman, and Benny in the studio.
Singer: Benny Dayal, Shreya Ghoshal
Lyrics: Prasoon Joshi
Music: AR Rahman
*ing: Aamir Khan, Asin
Director: AR Murugadoss
Film: Ghajini (2008)