Daler Mehndi: No matter how much we do for this occasion, it is less

Daler Mehndi

Almost three decades after he made his industry debut, Daler Mehndi presents his first Bhojpuri song, Ram ji ki jai, Hanuman ji ki jai, for the Bhojpuri film, Rang De Basanti. "I got a call for this number, and five minutes later, we were recording it. It is based on the Ram mandir, and I was attracted to the lyrics and rhythm. It is a number that can get everyone grooving," says the singer of the song that was filmed in Ayodhya, and features Bhojpuri actor Khesari Lal Yadav.

Ask him if rendering a song in a new language posed a challenge, and he responds in the negative. "I was born in Bihar, and was brought up there for 13 years. Even our Guru Vani [spiritual speech] contains a lot of Brij Bhasha, which has hence been part of my childhood. So, even though this is my debut in the language, it wasn't difficult to render it."

Even as the country celebrates the upcoming inauguration of the temple in Uttar Pradesh, a discussion on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ability to drive prominent film personalities to spearhead promotional work for the event cannot go unnoticed. Evidently, then, we ask Mehndi about his views on how cinema and politics have become interdigitated to celebrate the inauguration. "This [matter has been in contention] for 500 years. No matter how much we do to celebrate this inauguration, it will never be enough. We've been hearing about these stories from our parents. So, I find myself fortunate to link my name to this event. I recall, when I recorded the song Kala kauwa, I was told to remove it [from the album]. But, I was sure it would do well, as it did. Similarly, I have faith in this number. It will be the biggest Ram geet of the era," he touts.

On the day that we connect with Mehndi for this interview, he is set to return to television after 25 years for a Lohri special episode in the show, Tere Meri Jodiya. It's an exciting time for him as an actor, he confesses, speaking elatedly of his outing in the Akshay Kumar-starrer, Welcome 3. "Apart from a song, I am also going to act in it along with Akshay paaji, Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Suniel Shetty, and others. There are 20 stars. I play the role of a comic paaji, and enjoyed working on it. It is beautifully written, and left the cast in splits after each dialogue," he signs off.