Imtiaz Ali REVEALS AR Rahman Switched Off Lights At 2.20 AM To Compose Amar Singh Chamkila’s Vida Karo: People Started Crying

Music Maestro AR Rahman is known globally for his ground-breaking compositions which leave a mark in audience’s minds and hearts. The Jai Ho singer recently earned praise for his compositions in Amar Singh Chamkila‘s song Vida Karo – an emotional track. Rahman is also known for writing his songs in the dead of night, in what can only be called a spiritual environment. Now, Chamkila director Imtiaz Ali, in his recent interview, shared anecdotes about the conception and composition of the songs in the movie. The director discussed the poignant Amar Singh Chamkila song Vida Karo was written at 2:30 in the morning.

Imtiaz Ali Reveals Amar Singh Chamkila Song Vida Karo Was Written At 2.30 AM

Speaking of the poignant Amar Singh Chamkila movie’s closing song, Vida Karo, the Jab We Met director revealed to Radio Nasha that it was written at 2:30 in the morning. Ali shared, “Rahman came and sat at his piano at 2:30 am when I and Irshad Kamil were getting ready to leave his studio. He said to switch off the lights and asked for some candles to be lit so that we enjoy the process. He started playing the tune while we spoke about old Hindi film songs… Rahman was talking about music in Guru Dutt films. I was simply enjoying the music as an audience.”

Revealing how he made people in the studio cry, the director added, “Irshad sat down and wrote the lines within 45 minutes. Rahman said let’s sit down and compose the song right now. While it was happening, some people started crying in the studio. Rahman joked ‘what have you done Irshad Kamil, you are making people cry.’”

More On Amar Singh Chamkila Song Vida Karo

The melancholic track Vida Karo bids adieu to the characters of Diljit Dosanjh‘s Chamkila and Parineeti Chopra‘s Amarjot, who were murdered for their music after years of discrimination and criticism. In the song, which was written by Kamil and was based on a poem by Shiv Kumar Batalvi, Chamkila calls out bias while accepting his lot in life.

Imtiaz Ali Reveals AR Rahman Suggested Arijit Singh’s Name For The Song

In addition, Imtiaz mentioned that Rahman had suggested Arijit’s name for the song. “When a composer sings their song, there is a gravitas and attachment to it. Sometimes you need a singer who can sing the melody with the same attachment. Arijit brings that to the music — he sings truthfully and without milawat.”

“I also enjoy that he sings the whole song. He doesn’t sing one line to bring it in ‘sur’. In this era when people say you can auto tune or get AI to sing the song, he sings truthfully,” added Ali.