Chhaayaageet #88 - “No one in my family should know.”
A massive set has been erected in Film City. An entire mohalla has been set up. The team is on its way to check it out. For some reason, they are all squeezed into one car, the filmmaker, lead actor, and music composers. There is a conversation about the music of the film.
After some time, as the car finds its way to Film City, the lead actor starts humming a song to himself as he is watching Bombay pass by from the window. One of the composers starts to pay attention, unobtrusively. His voice has a nice texture, the composer thinks to himself.
The composer interrupts the actor, “Why don’t you sing a song?”
The actor stops humming. Surely, he must be joking. “Arre kya yaar, mein kahan gaana-waana gaa sakta?” What man, where do I know how to sing?
The composer persists, “No, your vocal texture is very mic friendly. We can compose a song that will suit your voice.”
The filmmaker also likes the idea. Now the question is, sing what? There isn’t a song already written, a tune already composed that they can just ask the actor to sing. He is still unsure about himself singing, excited, but cautious.
Everyone realizes that it would need to be something special. His fans would expect something special.
“Please compose something suited to my range and taste. I will sing it only if I am convinced it’s good for me. I don’t want to end up making a hash of it”, the actor informs everyone. They assure him he will have the final say and approval. They start discussing ideas for the song that align with the actor’s character in the film.
As the car reaches Film City, the topic goes on the back burner as the set and other matters take center stage.
Over the next few days and weeks, the actor starts to drop into the music room. The composers ask him to sing any of his favorite songs to get an idea of his range. They get a good sense of the scale that he can sing in. The actor also knows he cannot sing in higher notes and avoids them.
There is still no song, no lyrics, however. Meanwhile, the film is almost complete. They are getting ready to shoot the climax at Sanpada Railway Station. One of the music assistants in the film has an idea. He shares a couple of lines with the actor. The actor loves them, instantly. He shares them with the filmmaker. The filmmaker is ecstatic at finding something. The composers hear a couple of lines. They, too, love it. It’s really just a couple of lines that people are getting excited over. They ask the assistant to write further while they start working on a tune that suits the actor’s range.
A few days later, the composers play the tune and song for the filmmaker and the actor. It is an instant hit within the team. The actor also likes it. But he reminds them, “I will only sing it when I am fully comfortable. Promise me that you will not tell anyone. No one in my family should know. They don’t think much of me as a singer. I commit to giving you time for rehearsals, but it will have to be according to my convenience.”
Over the next couple of weeks, the actor shows up at the composers’ music room after midnight after the day's filming is over and they rehearse for a couple of hours into the night. On the day of the recording, he nails the song in 30 minutes.
Aamir Khan sang Aye kya bolti tu for Ghulam (1998), directed by Vikram Bhatt. The lyrics were written by Nitin Raikwar, music composer and lyricist, who at the time was assisting Jatin-Lalit who provided the music for the film. Alka Yagnik provided the female vocals for Rani Mukerji.
When the team was driving to the set in Film City, Lalit heard Aamir crooning Saagar jaisi aankhon waali ye to bataa tera naam hai kya. Nitin Raikwar came to know that the team was looking for tapori-style lyrics keeping in line with Aamir's character in the film. Nitin came up with the opening lyrics of the song. Once they had the song, Vikram Bhatt cut out some scenes to make room for the song in the film.
The song became immensely popular and restarted the trend of actors voicing themselves in song, with Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt following suit. Ghulam was Rani Mukerji’s first commercial success. Due to the popularity of the song, she started being known as the “Khandala girl”. Khandala, the popular tourist destination between Bombay and Pune, also experienced a surge in visitors.
The song attracted its share of creative and cultural criticism. Majrooh Sultanpuri flogged the lyrics as "prostitution of the pen". Mukesh Bhatt, the film's producer, retaliated by saying that Majrooh himself had started the rot with his lyrics of the song "C.A.T cat, cat mane billi" in the film Dilli Ka Thug (1958). On the cultural front, the song has been blamed for its influence on the social menace of eve teasing.
Jatin-Lalit composed the song in a conversational tune, to keep it within Aamir's range, as more talk than the tune. It was more about Aamir's attitude in the song than the singing.
During the filming of Lagaan, the film crew needed a 10,000-strong crowd in the scene where Aamir Khan hits a six to win the match. The crowd, people from nearby villages, were in costume and were asked to dance and jump in the scene. However, that excitement of winning a cricket match wasn't coming across from the crowd. Aamir took the mic and sang Aye kya bolti tu. The crowd started dancing with joy. Aamir kept on singing until Ashutosh Gowariker got his crowd shots.
The song was also reprised in Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham.
Will Smith attempted this song on one of the Indian talk shows.
The great Lata Mangeshkar thought Aamir Khan had sung the song nicely in tune. She gifted him with an expensive watch for his performance. Aamir Khan was nominated for the Filmfare award for Best Male Playback Singer in addition to Best Actor for Ghulam.
Lyrics: Nitin Raikwar
Music: Jatin-Lalit
Singer: Aamir Khan, Alka Yagnik
*ing: Aamir Khan, Rani Mukerji
Director: Vikram Bhatt
Film: Ghulam (1998)