Sonu Nigam on 20 years of Veer-Zaara: Singing Do Pal and Kyon Hawa with Lata Mangeshkar ji was memorable
The soundtrack of the Shah Rukh Khan and Preity G Zinta-starrer is evergreen. Sonu Nigam talks about recording two songs for the film two decades ago.
Sonu Nigam had two soulful numbers - Do Pal Ruka and Kyon Hawa Aaj Yun – in Veer-Zaara. As the film turns 20 today, the singer says there are a lot of special memories associated with the two tracks. “When I look back at my career, I have only gratitude towards the universe. To get an opportunity to sing for someone as iconic as Madan Mohan ji, that too posthumously, was unheard of,” says Nigam.
The soundtrack was based on old compositions by the late Madan Mohan that were revisited by his son, composer Sanjeev Kohli. What makes the two renditions even more special for the musician, who has had three hit releases lately, including film numbers Mere Dholna 3.0 (Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3) and Hukkush Phukkush (Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3), and the single Mayavi (Bhoomi 2024), was singing them with the late legend Lata Mangeshkar. Nigam shares, “The feather on the cap was that both the songs were with Lata Mangeshkar ji. Do Pal Ruka was a proper duet with her and Kyon Hawa Aaj Yun was a solo song with aalaps by Lata ji and a spoken commentary by (filmmaker) Yash Chopra ji.”
Talking about the magic he felt while recording the numbers at a studio in Mumbai, the Padma Shri recipient tells us, “I vividly remember, we were recording in Studio One (in Mumbai) and Madan Mohan ji's son, Sanjeev Kohli ji, was supervising the dub. Pramod Chandorkar was the sound engineer. All of us were overwhelmed by the unprecedented history that was being made with us in the forefront.”
Talking about the process, he adds, “We would listen to Madan Mohan ji's voice and then put the new words written by (lyricist) Javed Akhtar ji. Then, I would work on the expressions. It was a very smooth, yet overwhelming experience.”