‘Not Sonu Nigam, actor’s team suggested Arijit Singh for Mere Dholna 3.0’: Amaal Mallik says he fought to get singer for Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3

Amaal recalled the pressure coming from multiple corners during the selection process. “Bhushan Kumar Sir was convinced. ANR was convinced. The director was convinced. From the marketing team someone’s coming; from the actor’s team, the manager’s coming who are then suggesting ‘Why shouldn’t we go with Arijit Singh? Shouldn’t we go with Vishal Mishra?’ And I understand as my choices were these three, as I wanted a little bolder voice. I thought there’s only one person who is epitome of classical music in this country that’s Sonu sir and I knew he could pull it off,” he explained.

Sonu Nigam sang ‘Mere Dholna 3.0’ in 45 minutes

Despite the skepticism, Sonu delivered the song in record time. “He completed the song in 45 minutes. It is the toughest song on Earth that I have recomposed. Pritam da’s original that I made into a new verse. That sargam at the end, ask any classical musician, you will think it must have taken 5 hours to complete. We had booked the studio from 7 to 12 at night. He came directly from a show in the US at 10 and finished it by 10:45, around 11. And then everyone was like ‘Wow, what a song!’”

Amaal also highlighted the creative struggles composers face. “During the process to bring his voice for the song, they were ready to remove me from the film saying that you aren’t listening to us! So when I am choosing my singer, there are times that the composer is getting replaced. Everyone thinks they should decide which singer suits a song, even though it’s the composer’s job,” he said.

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Amaal was removed from 45 songs

Amaal also opened up about the professional risks of standing his ground and speaking about the long-standing issues within the Hindi film music industry.

“There was a time when I was working with someone on a film, and by the evening we were fighting a court case. I won’t name anyone, but that’s how it works.” Over the past five years, Amaal disclosed that he had been removed from 40 to 45 films.

Disparity in compensation

Amaal also pointed to the disparity in compensation for composers and singers in India, citing the example of “Sooraj Dooba Hai” from the film Roy. Despite being produced on a modest budget of Rs 8–9 lakh, the song earned the music labels around Rs 60–70 crore, while Amaal received nothing beyond minimal publishing rights.

“It earned Rs 60–70 crore for the label, and I got nothing except for the publishing rights, which are negligible, not even close to Rs 1 crore,” he revealed in the interview.