Kailash Kher recalls being replaced by another singer for a Shah Rukh Khan song without being informed: ‘Even big people do such small things’

Kailash Kher recently spoke about not getting due credit for the song he sang for Aziz Mirza’s 2003 film Chalte Chalte, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji in the lead roles. The singer said he came to know about losing the song to Sukhwinder Singh only after the film’s music album was released.

During a recent interaction with Bollywood Thikana, Kher recalled how happy he was when he was called by the makers of Chalte Chalte to sing a song. “I was called to sing a song which was written by Javed Akhtar in the Aziz Mirza film Chalte Chalte. I thought if such a big director is calling me, it must not be for nothing. He must be calling me to sing a song. These are big names who are calling. So, I went there and sang a song. Gaana bhi ek dum aise kushti vala (The song was also just like wrestling). It took a lot of effort to sing it,” recalled the singer.

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Kailash Kher recorded a couple of songs and even told his sister about singing for a Shah Rukh Khan film. “But when the first audio CD of the film came, it didn’t have the name Kailash Kher. It had someone else’s name. That is when I got the first setback. I thought, ‘Bade aadmi bhi choti harkat karte hain (Even big people do such small things).’ They made some other singer sing the song,” he shared.

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The song that Kher probably lost was “Layi Vi Na Gayi” which was later sung by Sukhwinder Singh. It was picturised on the lead characters Raj and Priya, played by Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji.

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However, such an incident proved to be a learning experience for Kailash Kher. He said, “Such incidents taught me to not get too attached to the film industry.”