Imtiaz Ali On Asking AR Rahman To Make ‘Kharab’ Song For Ranbir Kapoor’s Rockstar, “…There Is No Sur Aur Taal”

Rockstar is considered one of Imtiaz Ali’s best directorials. The musical romantic drama stars Ranbir Kapoor, Nargis Fakhri, Aditi Rao Hydari, Kumud Mishra, Piyush Mishra, Shammi Kapoor, Sanjana Sanghi and others. Ali’s film was released in 2011 and is loved for its music, performances, emotionally driven story and amazing direction.

Even after a decade, movie buffs can’t get enough of Rockstar. From decoding Ranbir Kapoor’s character Janardan, aka Jordan, to the songs, fans have something intriguing to say about the Imtiaz Ali film. A R Rahman composed one of his best albums for this Hindi film. From Jo Bhi Main to Nadaan Parindey, every song hits deeply, and the love for them keeps growing every year. But did you know Imtiaz had requested Rahman to make a kharab (bad) song for the film?

In an interview with Fever FM, Imtiaz Ali revealed that they wanted to be ‘Kharab’ is “Sheher Mein”. The director stated, “When we wanted to make the song, the brief that we gave Rahman sir was ‘Ek kharab gaana banana hai’ (we have to make a bad song). The song is bizarre. The lyrics are vague, and there is no sur aur taal (there’s no melody). I told him, ‘Aisa gana jo UP Bihar mein kamaal kar de (Make a song that takes the states of UP and Bihar by storm).’ Rahman sir would go like ‘Okay, okay!”