Shah Rukh Khan thought ‘Chaar Botal Vodka’ was a ‘bakwas gaana’ when he first heard it, told Honey Singh it would never work

The rapper said, “Chaar Botal Vodka 2013 mein bana, jab main Australia tour pe gaya Shah Rukh bhai ke saath. Meri apni community ne, Punjabi community ne wahan protest kiya, kuch logon ne, ke yeh Punjabi culture ka naam kharab kar raha hai aur galat portray kar raha hai, aur yeh yahan nahi ayega. Shah Rukh bhai ne bola ke yeh nahi ayega toh tour nahi hoga. Finally, woh tour hua. Mujhe bola ke tu isse dil pe mat le, 500 log protest kar rahe they, lekin 15000 log toh pagal ho rahe they tere liye. Mera dil toot gaya (I wrote ‘Chaar Botal Vodka in 2013, when I was touring with Shah Rukh Khan in Australia. Some people from the Punjabi community had taken offence to my music and were staging a protest. They said that I’d spoiled their culture and was portraying it wrongly, and that I couldn’t perform. Shah Rukh said that if I can’t perform, the show won’t happen. Finally, the show happened, and Shah Rukh told me not to take this to heart, because only 500 people were protesting, but 15000 were showering me with their love during the show. My heart broke).”

Honey said that he retreated into his room, and he only had his choreographer and one dancer with him. Between the three of them, he said, they finished four bottles of vodka and overnight, wrote the song ‘Chaar Botal Vodka’. He said, “I made Shah Rukh bhai listen to it. Agli subha, maine kaha, ‘Bhai, raat ko gaana banaya hai, suno (I made a song last night, and I want you to listen to it)’. He said, ‘Bakwas gaana hai, yeh chalega nahi (This is a terrible song, it won’t work)’. I said this is going to work, and it went massive.”

Honey had recently shared a similar story about the song ‘Lungi Dance’, which he had composed for Shah Rukh’s film Chennai Express. He said on Raj Shamani’s podcast, “Shah Rukh Khan called me after listening to ‘Angrezi Beat’ and asked me to make a similar song. I said ‘No, tell me what is the vibe of your film’. He narrated his film for 3 hours. I told him I will create something for him and will come back only if the song will be a super hit. I made ‘Lungi Dance’ and he didn’t like it. I told him, ‘Chahiye toh theek hai, nahi chahiye toh main isko single release kar dunga (Take if you want to, else I will release it as a single). This will work.’”

After struggling with mental health and substance abuse for several years, Honey is now staging a comeback with a new album.