Singer Javed Ali reveals how he aced Amitabh Bachchan's lines in Kajra Re

Javed Ali; (Inset) A still from the song Kajra Re [Bunty Aur Babli] Photo/mid-day archives and PR

When the Gujarat Rockers' captain Javed Ali sang his most famous track 'Kajra Re' in the latest episode of Zee TV's Indian Pro Music League (IPML), he spilled some beans on singing Amitabh Bachchan's lines from the Bunty Aur Babli song. The singer-composer said he was sure he won't make it as the playback singer of the 2005 song, which featured Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan along with Big B, as he felt his voice would not match Big B's in the movie.

In the upcoming episode of the show, the audience will witness a grand musical battle between Gujarat Rockers and Mumbai Warriors. Ali had the studio audience shaking a leg as he sang Kajra Re and after the electrifying performance, he revealed an interesting anecdote about the song. Recalling how the song came to him, Javed Ali said, "During that time I was majorly recording demos for songs. One fine day, I got a call from Shankar (Mahadevan) asking me to visit him for a recording, but when I got to know that the song was going to be picturised on Amitabh Bachchan, I was sure I won't get it because my voice would not match his in the movie. But when you are struggling, you don't let go of any opportunity that comes your way, right? I did the same and I started following a couple of songs sung by Kishore Da which were picturized on Amitji to get the voice texture that suits him. I practised a lot and that's how I got Kajra Re."

He further added, "Even then, I knew I was only recording a demo and the makers had to approve it. But a few days later, when I was performing at a show with Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Ehsaan came up to me and said that the song was sounding great and that Aditya sir (Chopra) wants me to record it. Immediately, after the show we all went back to the studio, recorded the song, and trust me when I say it, it took us exactly 20 minutes to record the song."

While Javed Ali's performance and revelations will surely leave you stunned, wait till you see the mega-musical battle between Gujarat Rockers and Mumbai Warriors. Shilpa Rao, Kailash Kher and their team will come out all guns blazing as they face off Javed Ali, Bhoomi Trivedi and their team.