Baba Sehgal is one of the most popular Indian rappers and is widely acclaimed as the first Indian rapper. Remember the iconic film, Roja from 1992, directed by Mani Ratnam? The 1992 film became a blockbuster, and Mani Ratnam earned the prestigious national acclaim. Besides winning three National Film Awards, Roja also made AR Rahman win many accolades, including the National Film Awards for Best Music Direction. However, in a recent interview, Baba slammed one of the iconic songs of AR Rahman from the 1992 cult classic.
Baba Sehgal recalls how he was approached for the Hindi version of AR Rahman’s song, Rukmani Rukmani from Roja
In a recent interview with Siddharth Kannan, Baba Sehgal spoke his heart out and shared an experience from the ’90s. Baba recalled how he was once approached for the Hindi version of Rukmani Rukmani from Mani Ratnam’s Roja. The song was originally sung in Tamil, and the singers were S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and K. S. Chithra. For the unversed, AR Rahman was the music composer of the song Rukmani Rukmani. Baba was approached by AR Rahman and his team at a show in Chennai. Recalling the moment, Baba said:
“I had a show in Chennai. Somebody from the organising team told me that some director wants to meet me. There was an assistant director who came and played Rukmani Rukmani’s Tamil version. I didn’t pay much attention to it and just said ‘yes’ to the song. AR Rahman was also there. He was very young at the time.”
Baba Sehgal reveals AR Rahman and Mani Ratnam didn’t like him
Further in the interview, Baba shared how AR Rahman and his team visited him in a hotel room and asked for help to release the Rukmani Rukmani song. So, in order to help, Baba contacted a friend of his and then gave them the number of the founder of Magnasound, Shashi Gopal. Then Baba was requested to sing the Hindi remake of the Tamil song, Rukmani Rukmani. Revealing an unknown truth about his equation with Mani Ratnam and AR Rahman, Baba said:
“I called my friend Atul and gave them Shashi Gopal’s number from Magnasound. They connected and eventually decided to do a Hindi version, on one condition that one song would be sung by me. I understood then that AR Rahman and Mani Ratnam didn’t really like me.”
Baba Sehgal opens up about the cheap lyrics of Rukmani Rukmani
In the same interview, Baba Sehgal said when he received the Hindi lyrics for the Rukmani Rukmani song, he found the lyrics very cheap. He shared that when we listen to a particular song in a different language, it sounds fine, but when its meaning in Hindi comes in front, it changes the whole thing. Baba disclosed that he later found that the makers originally wanted classical singers for the song. In his words:
“When I saw the Hindi lyrics, I was like, ‘Kitne vahiyat lyrics hai yaar. Kisne likha hai ye?’ The problem is, when we listen to songs in another language, they sound fine. But in our own language, we grasp the meaning. I don’t think Rahman or Ratnam knew what those Hindi lyrics meant. It was a forced thing. I was not at all convinced with the lyrics. They were very cheap, I feel.”
Baba Sehgal reveals that Rukmani Rukmani was his last collaboration with AR Rahman
In the same conversation with Siddharth Kannan, Baba also revealed that Rukmani Rukmani was his first and last collaboration with AR Rahman. He shared that initially another female artist was approached for the song, but he told Swetha Shetty to sing the song. For the unversed, Rukmani Rukmani’s Hindi version was sung by Baba Sehgal and Shetty, while PK Mishra wrote the lyrics.
What are your thoughts on Baba Sehgal’s revelation about AR Rahman and Mani Ratnam not liking him? Let us know.
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