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Amitabh Bachchan is one of India's most respected actors, but very few know that Bachchan also has a keen interest in music. In a recent interview, composer Shankar Mahadevan said that when Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy composed 'Kajra Re' for Bunty Aur Babli, Bachchan had a significant contribution to it. Shankar recalled that when he was composing the song, Amitabh Bachchan used to spend time with him in the studio and the idea of 'vocal Jugalbandhi' came to his mind at the beginning of the song.
The idea of the vocal Jugalbandi was his
Shankar said, "Bachchan sir used to come to the studio, spend time with us, and jam with us. The idea of 'Dhin Dhinak Dhinak' was Bachchan sir's... The idea of this vocal Jugalbandi was his. Because the song used to start with 'Mera chain van sab ujda'. He said 'Let's do some vocal Jugalbandi before that'. I did that in five minutes and he was very happy with it, the idea was his contribution."
About the song
'Kajra Re' begins with a verse sung by Alisha Chinai, accompanied by the sound of harmonium. This is followed by cheers from the crowd and then the 'vocal jugalbandi' begins. Written by Gulzar, the song is sung by Alisha, Shankar and Javed Ali and filmed on Aishwarya Rai, Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, choreographed by Vaibhavi Merchant. In the film, Shankar's voice is filmed on Amitabh and Javed's voice is lip-synced by Abhishek.
Recorded as a dummy version
Shankar recalled that he had recorded the song only as a dummy version and wanted another singer to come and record for Bachchan, but the veteran actor was so impressed with Shankar's voice that he insisted that he keep it. He recalled, "I thought I had only sung the guide voice because I wanted another singer to come and dub for him. I had never sung for Amitabh Bachchan. So I told him, 'Sir, this is just a guide voice so we will dub it later.'
He asked, 'Who are you going to call?' I said, 'Any other singer can come and dub.' He said, 'If you touch him, I will kill you. It will remain like this. It will be your voice and I like your voice very much. Just let it be.' That's when my idea of singing for Bachchan sahab started." Shankar said that after 'Kajra Re', he sang for 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom' and 'Rock N Roll Soniye' and became Bachchan's voice on screen. He then shared that Bachchan himself is a musician who enjoys different kinds of music and has his own music setup at his home. He said, "He has always blessed me. He is fantastic, he is a musician. He listens to a lot of music and has his own music setup. He loves fusion music, improvisation, Indian classical music, everything."
by Preeti Shukla
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