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Hindustan Times
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Imtiaz Ali recalls AR Rahman's reaction when girls in Kashmir mistook him for electrician during Rockstar shoot
Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali and music maestro AR Rahman created magic with the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Rockstar, delivering iconic tracks like Kun Faya Kun and Phir Se Ud Chala. In a recent interview with O2India, Imtiaz shared behind-the-scenes anecdotes from their collaboration — including the time Rahman "ghosted" him. He also recounted a surprising moment during the recording of a song when the chorus singers refused to believe they were actually working with AR Rahman himself. (Also Read: 'Nice to blame me for everything': AR Rahman reacts to Abhijeet Bhattacharya slamming him for overusing technology) Imtiaz Ali had approached AR Rahman for Rockstar, but got busy making Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal. When he later approached Rahman again for both films, the composer ghosted him. Imtiaz recalled another instance when Rahman 'famously disappeared' after agreeing to compose music for Rockstar. He found himself unsure whether Rahman would actually be doing the music, as the composer had stopped responding to his messages. Imtiaz suspected Rahman might be trying to back out of the project without actually saying no. However, while scouting locations in Delhi's Hazrat Nizamuddin, Imtiaz learned from a local that Rahman had visited the area and mentioned he was working on a song and a film related to the shrine. That moment of discovery made it clear to the filmmaker that Rahman had already begun working on Rockstar — just in his own quiet and unconventional way. Eventually, Imtiaz began shooting the film in Kashmir, where he also invited Rahman. While visiting snow-covered peaks and dargahs in Pahalgam, Rahman decided to record the song Phir Se Ud Chala. Imtiaz recalled how Rahman's simplicity led the Kashmiri girls in the chorus to believe he was an electrician. He said, 'Rahman sir set up this recording console in the reception of the hotel. He was wearing this black t-shirt paired with a grey trouser. These girls came in to sing chorus and suddenly asked who the music director was. Now, these people were not really exposed to cinema or its people, so they didn't know me or Rahman sir. When they asked, 'Who was the music director', I gestured at them to be quiet and showed them where they had to be for the recording. Rahman sir came out of the table, one of these girls was bold and she asked again, 'Who is the music director?' I finally pointed towards Rahman, and told them Here he is, AR Rahman.' 'One of the girls then denied to believe it and said, 'Yeh AR Rahman thodi hai', I have met him, he looks different.' Rahman played along and said, 'Yeah, yeah, forget about it. And then he sat behind the console and started recording. Until the end of it, these girls didn't realise that they are actually singing for AR Rahman,' he added. The musical romantic drama, written and directed by Imtiaz Ali, starred Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri in lead roles, with Aditi Rao Hydari, Piyush Mishra, Shernaz Patel, Kumud Mishra, Sanjana Sanghi, Aakash Dahiya, and Shammi Kapoor in pivotal supporting roles. While the film had an average run at the box office, it has gone on to achieve cult status over the years.
Time of India
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Imtiaz Ali reveals a group of chorus girls did not recognise AR Rahman while singing for him in Kashmir: ‘Yeh AR Rahman thodi hai! he looks different'
Imtiaz Ali recently spoke about his collaboration with Oscar-winning music director AR Rahman for the 2011 film ' Rockstar ' and recalled a moment when the musician completely vanished without communicating or responding to his messages. At the same time, he also shared an incident where some girls, who had come to sing chorus, did not initially recognise Rahman. In a recent interview with O2India, Imtiaz revealed that Rahman's behaviour made him believe that the music legend was deliberately avoiding him. However, this assumption about Rahman's silence turned out to be entirely wrong. 'I was thinking maybe he doesn't want to do the film, and that's why he doesn't want to say no directly. So he is giving me a hint, maybe,' he shared. Imtiaz travelled to Delhi's Hazrat Nizamuddin to scout locations for his film. It was there that he heard something which changed his perspective. Someone told his assistant that Rahman had been there to check the location and had said he was making a song for Hazrat Nizamuddin. Imtiaz realised that it was for his film. 'He is not saying no, but he is also not saying yes to me,' he added. AR Rahman, Saira Banu Separate Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Upto 15% Discount for Salaried Individuals ICICI Pru Life Insurance Plan Get Quote Undo This was the moment that helped Imtiaz understand Rahman's unique style of communication and his creative process. Imtiaz recalled discussing this with Rahman. 'He said, 'I told you I will do it. There are no questions about it.' One thing about Rahman is that he never lies. He would do a song for you even if he had promised it a decade ago.' As the film shoot began in Kashmir, Imtiaz invited Rahman to join him in the picturesque locations. They visited snow-covered peaks and dargahs in Pahalgam. However, the musician declined to record the song 'Phir Se Ud Chala' during that time. Imtiaz spoke about Rahman's simplicity: 'Rahman sir set up this recording console in the reception of the hotel. He was wearing a black T-shirt paired with grey trousers. These girls came in to sing chorus and suddenly asked who the music director was. Now, these people were not really exposed to cinema or its people, so they didn't know me or Rahman sir. When they asked, 'Who is the music director?' I gestured for them to be quiet and directed them to the recording area. Rahman sir came out from behind the table. One of the girls, who was quite bold, asked again, 'Who is the music director?' I finally pointed towards Rahman and said, 'Here he is — A.R. Rahman .'' Imtiaz continued the amusing story: 'One of the girls then refused to believe it and said, 'Yeh A.R. Rahman thodi hai! I've met him — he looks different.' Rahman played along and said, 'Yeah, yeah, forget about it.'' He then started recording without paying attention to the conversation, and the girls sang without knowing it was for Rahman. Best Hindi Movies | Best Tamil Movies | Best Telugu Movies | Best english Movies | Best Malayalam Movies |
