Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali has opened up about an interesting moment from the making of his 2011 film ‘Rockstar’. He shared that music composer A. R. Rahman had once thought of making Ranbir Kapoor sing all the songs in the film. Rahman had asked if Ranbir could sing and was ready to let him record the full album. However, when Imtiaz told Ranbir about this idea, the actor ‘freaked out’ as he does not know how to sing.
Imtiaz Ali recalls the fun conversation with Rahman
Imtiaz took to Instagram to share an audio note, giving fans a peek into a fun conversation he once had with A. R. Rahman during the making of ‘Rockstar’. He recalled how Rahman had brought up the idea of Ranbir singing all the songs in the film, and how both he and Ranbir quickly shut it down. “I remember AR Rahman sir had asked me during Rockstar whether Ranbir sings. If he could, then Rahman sir thought it’s a great idea for him to sing all the songs of Rockstar. And I said, ‘No sir. Please don’t even go in that direction.’ And Rahman was like ‘Let’s see how good or bad he is.’ I had told Ranbir, and Ranbir had freaked out doubly more than me and he said, ‘No, please. I never want to sing in front of him.’ So that didn’t happen.” In the end, the makers went ahead with professional playback singers for the film. The ‘Rockstar’ soundtrack had 14 songs, with Irshad Kamil penning the lyrics. Mohit Chauhan voiced nine of those songs, which became the soul of the film’s music. Composed by A. R. Rahman, the album went on to become one of the most loved soundtracks in Indian cinema.
How Ranbir Kapoor’s ‘Rockstar’ opened doors for actors to sing in Imtiaz’s films
He also pointed out that while the idea didn’t work out for Rockstar, it did open the door for actors to sing in his future films. Over the years, several actors have stepped up to the mic in his projects, including Alia Bhatt, Diljit Dosanjh, and Parineeti Chopra. “In the next film, Alia became the first actor in my film to sing playback and that was really amazing. Then there were Parineeti and Diljit who sang in Chamkila. And now there’s Diljit who’s singing in Main Vapas Aaunga. But the fresh news of course is that young Vedang Raina is singing his own part in Maskara song. And he has achieved this on merit.”
How Vedang Raina got his big singing moment in Imtiaz Ali’s film
Ali also opened up about how Vedang Raina ended up singing in the film, sharing the story behind the happy coincidence that made it all happen. He said, “I had come to know that Vedang sings. I am very excited about actors who can sing, because I have a dream of making a musical where actors are singing and acting and dancing, and record everything live. I get very excited when actors can do singing and music. So I had heard and I asked Vedang. This is much before we began shooting. Vedang sent some of his songs and they were very nice. He happened to be at the office when Hiral, who works with Rahman sir, who is the music supervisor of this film, happened to visit. We were talking about Maskara song. And then while we were going through the tune, Vedang was there. Being a music person, he was interested. Hiral asked him whether he sings. We asked him to sing those parts right there.”“He was hitting the notes and then we invited him to come to Rahman sir’s studio that night. And he sang there. And he was being very meticulous, he was a little nervous. But he wanted to get it right and it was a huge thing for him. I saw him touching his ears when Rahman’s sir’s name was taken. But he has come through. Rahman sir heard him. Impressed, and now everyone is humming Vedang’s part in Maskara,” said Imtiaz Ali.
