AR Rahman apologizes to ‘Badshah’ for criticizing “Humma Humma” remake
- Badshah, a renowned Bollywood artist, reimagined “Humma Humma” for the 2017 film “Ok Jaanu”.
- The original singer, AR Rahman, initially criticized the remake but later apologized.
- Badshah had a clear vision for the song’s remix and remake, describing it as the best part of the process.
Bollywood singer-rapper Badshah, recognized as one of the finest artists in the industry, has showcased his talent with hits like “Genda Phool”, “Garmi”, and “Bad Boy”, among others. In a recent interview, Badshah discussed his song “Humma Humma” from “Ok Jaanu” and revealed that maestro AR Rahman, the original singer of “Humma Humma”, apologized to him for initially criticizing the remake of his iconic track.
During a conversation with Radio Nasha, Badshah stated, “I faced a lot of flak when I did Humma Humma. AR Rahman sir was also very unhappy. But at an event, I remember, he called me and he said, ‘I am sorry. It took me time to realize it’s a good song. I was just unhappy because of…’ There were some things that were probably the biggest validation I wasn’t looking for but got.”
The singer shared that he had a clear vision of what he wanted to achieve with the song, describing it as the best part of the process. Badshah explained that while he knew exactly how he wanted to remix and remake the song to give it his signature “Badshah touch,” it was only later that others came to appreciate his conviction.
Badshah, in collaboration with Tanishk Bagchi, reimagined “Humma Humma” for the 2017 film “Ok Jaanu”, starring Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor. AR Rahman composed and sang the original track, which featured in Mani Ratnam’s 1995 film “Bombay”.
When the new version of “Humma Humma” was released for “Ok Jaanu”, Rahman publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the remake. He stated that he had allowed the song to be used only after receiving repeated requests from the film’s director, Shaad Ali.
In addition to “Humma Humma”, Badshah has remade several iconic Bollywood tracks, including “Tamma Tamma Loge”, “Kala Chashma”, and more recently, “Morni Baga Ma Bole”. Apart from these, his original tracks like “Jugnu”, “Gone Girl”, “Paagal”, “Mercy”, “Bachpan Ka Pyaar”, and many others have become huge hits.