Imtiaz Ali reveals how Kashmiri girls mistook AR Rahman for an electrician: “These girls came to sing chorus and asked who the music director was” : Bollywood News – Bollywood Hungama

Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali and music composer AR Rahman collaborated on the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Rockstar, creating tracks like ‘Kun Faya Kun’ and ‘Phir Se Ud Chala’. In a recent interview with O2India, Imtiaz shared stories from their work together, including when Rahman “ghosted” him, and a moment when the chorus singers were shocked to find they were working with him.

Imtiaz Ali reveals how Kashmiri girls mistook AR Rahman for an electrician: “These girls came to sing chorus and asked who the music director was”

Imtiaz Ali initially approached AR Rahman for Rockstar, but got busy making Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal. When he reached out to Rahman again for both films, the composer stopped responding. Imtiaz recalled a moment when Rahman “famously disappeared” after agreeing to compose music for Rockstar, leaving Imtiaz unsure if Rahman would follow through on the project. He suspected Rahman might be trying to back out without directly saying no.

While scouting locations in Hazrat Nizamuddin, Imtiaz was informed by a local that Rahman had visited the area, mentioning he was working on a song and film related to the shrine. This confirmed to Imtiaz that Rahman had quietly started work on Rockstar.

Imtiaz eventually started filming Rockstar in Kashmir and invited Rahman to join. While visiting snow-clad peaks and dargahs in Pahalgam, Rahman chose to record the song ‘Phir Se Ud Chala’. Imtiaz recalled how Rahman’s simplicity made the Kashmiri girls in the chorus mistake him for 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.

Rockstar, a musical romantic drama written and directed by Imtiaz Ali, starred Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri, with supporting roles by Aditi Rao Hydari, Piyush Mishra, Kumud Mishra, and others.

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