When Lata Mangeshkar stood for 8 hours to record Rang De Basanti’s Luka Chuppi with AR Rahman

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra said that Lata Mangeshkar stood at the mic for eight hours as she recorded 'Luka Chhupi' for Rang De Basanti.

When Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Rang De Basanti released 16 years ago, the film’s music by AR Rahman with tracks like ‘Masti Ki Paathshaala’, ‘Khalbali’ were all the rage. In the years since, ‘Luka Chuppi’ has found a special place in the audience’s heart. In the film, the song appears after Madhavan’s Ajay dies and his family and friends are dealing with the grief of his passing. Sung beautifully by Lata Mangeshkar and AR Rahman, the song is an instant tear-jerker. And while one might think that a singer of Lata Mangeshkar’s calibre would find singing an emotional song an everyday occurrence, it was surprising to learn that she rehearsed the song for four days.

At a press conference celebrating the film’s 10 years, Mehra had revealed the story behind the making of the song. He shared that they had spoken to Lata Didi quite a few times about the song but somehow, things were not falling in place until months later, he called her again and she readily agreed. “She said ‘Haan beta. Kaisa hai gaana? Bhijwa toh do mujhe’ (Sure son. How is the song? Send it to me). I said you know Rahman sir. Bante bante banega aur Prasoon likhte likhte likhenge (He is still making it, and Prasoon is still writing it) but I have shot it already. She said, ‘Aisa bhi hota hai aajkal?’ (Is that how it happens these days?). I said, ‘Haan. Aisa hota hai’ (Yes, it happens).”

Mehra continued to narrate the incident and recalled that they were supposed to record the song on November 15 when Lata Mangeshkar told them that she will come to Chennai by November 9-10, as that is where Rahman’s studio is located. The director assumed that she might be coming in for something else but turns out, she was there to rehearse the song. He said, “Every day she would come to the studio and start rehearsing the song. I would like this to sink in that Lata Mangeshkar would come to the studio every day and rehearse the song. For 4 days she rehearsed.” Mehra added that most singers these days come and even before he knows it, they have recorded the song, so he was not used to working with a singer who placed such high importance on rehearsals.

He further revealed that on the day of the recording, Lata Mangeshkar stood at the mic for eight hours and sang for all those hours. “She spoke to Rahman saab. She stood at the mic, we were in the room. She stood there, her plait touching the floor. We kept some flowers, a bottle of water and a chair for her. For 8 hours, she sang the song and for 8 hours she stood there,” he recalled.

Rang De Basanti starred Aamir Khan, Siddharth, Atul Kulkarni, Soha Ali Khan, Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kapoor and Alice Patten in key roles.