Alka Yagnik almost declined to sing Taal’s title track; recalls waiting till 2 am for AR Rahman to arrive: ‘Mosquitoes were biting us’

Reflecting on her experience working with AR Rahman, Alka Yagnik shared how she nearly declined the opportunity to record Taal's title track.

Alka Yagnik talked about her experience of working with AR Rahman.

Subhash Ghai’s Taal is celebrating its 25th anniversary on August 13, marking a significant milestone in Hindi cinema. The film, renowned for its soulful soundtrack composed by AR Rahman, featured Alka Yagnik singing the title track. Reflecting on her experience working with Rahman, Alka shared how she nearly declined the opportunity to record the song.

In an interview with O2india, Alka revealed her initial reluctance to travel to Chennai for the recording session due to prior commitments in Mumbai. She recounted, “I told Subhash ji that I can’t do the song because I had committed to other songs in Mumbai. He insisted that I had to go. I told him I didn’t want to stay up all night. He said, ‘You are going to miss something if you don’t sing this song.’ While I was pondering this, my mother asked about my conversation with Subhash ji. When I told her, she insisted that I go to Chennai to record the song since it was Subhash ji’s film and Rahman was composing it. So, I went to Chennai grudgingly.”

Alka also shared her experience waiting for Rahman, who typically worked late into the night. “I was called to the studio at 9 pm, but Rahman and the team did not arrive until after 2 am. Subhash ji and I waited outside on a swing, and mosquitoes were biting us. I told him, ‘Looks like I’ll have to swing the whole night.’ Subhash ji asked me to hang on. Rahman arrived after 2 am and he looked very fresh, as if he had just woken up.”

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She added, “My biggest problem was working nights, while Rahman’s was working during the day.”

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Alka Yagnik and Sukhwinder Singh at the music launch of Taal. (Express archive photo)

Despite her initial discomfort, Alka Yagnik came to appreciate AR Rahman’s nocturnal working hours. “We finished the song by 4 in the morning. By then, I realised why Rahman prefers working at night. It was the best time to work on a song because there was no disturbance, no one walking in. It was peaceful and quiet. Just the three of us were there,” she said.

Taal, which starred Aishwarya Rai, Akshaye Khanna, and Anil Kapoor, was a major commercial success both domestically and overseas.

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