Changing tracks

His new track, O Mere Khuda from the upcoming Vivek Oberoi-starrer, Prince, is a hit with fans, but Pakistani singer Atif Aslam isn’t happy with its final version.

His new track, O Mere Khuda from the upcoming Vivek Oberoi-starrer, Prince, is a hit with fans, but Pakistani singer Atif Aslam isn’t happy with its final version. He says it sounds nothing like the one he recorded in Dubai a few months ago.

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“The music has been changed quite a bit. I heard the final version on Wednesday night when I landed in India. But the song is out everywhere,” he says. Atif says it hurts when composers do that. “The music of the song has been done afterwards. It hurts when you realise the song sounds different. But singers can’t do much about it.”

The singer, who was in the city for a gig, says sometimes singers just have to “let go” even if they aren’t happy with a song. “I didn’t know my other hit Pehli Nazar (from the film, Race) was a rip-off when I sang it for Pritam. It’s not the right thing to do, but singers don’t know what the song will sound like till the very end,” he says.

Sachin Gupta, the music composer of the film, says in his defense, “A song is sung in multiple takes and many versions of the same track are made. Atif, too, sang O Mere Khuda with different alaaps. But the makers of the film take the final call. In the end, it’s the director’s choice as to which version he wants in the film. I don’t know why he’s reacting this way.”