As Rang De Basanti completes 20 years today, the music by maestro AR Rahman, be it Luka Chuppi voiced by Lata Mangeshkar or Masti Ki Paathshala that became a youth anthem and other songs from the film still remain popular.
Filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra who helmed the film tells us, “I believe the film has turned 20 years younger instead of 20 years older. I also believe blessings come in disguise. Just when we were to shoot the film I had a severe case of jaundice and was hospitalised but we started rehearsals since I had everyone’s dates locked. So, we had the whole film recorded like a radio program before we started shooting. I took that recording to AR Rahman in Chennai. He just sat on his piano and started making the track based on the recording that he heard.”
Sharing some trivia on Luka Chuppi the emotional number featuring veteran actor Waheeda Rehman, Mehra says, “The film was complete and we were doing the background music. When AR saw the scene he just stopped and composed that song. It wasn’t a planned song, that’s how it was born.” He shares that even Khoon Chala was inspired by a poem by Sahir Ludhianvi that Rahman turned into a song.
He goes on to say their association is much more than industry colleagues. “We have done two films together Rang De Basanti and Delhi 6 and both were smash hits. The process with AR is we talk a lot, about the film, the characters and the reason I’m making a film. I’m not chasing a hit or the box office. We enjoy meals together, go from drives and music happens.”
Recently Rahman had said he wasn’t getting enough work, “People who are not creative have the power now to decide things, and this might have been a communal thing also,” Mehra says there is no such thing as missing Rahman’s music in films because he will always remain relevant. “I love his music, good work is timeless. When you listen to a song by Shankar Jaikishen, Mohd Rafi or Gulzar you savour it, likewise we are blessed that AR has given us such beautiful music.”
