When singer Sukhbir’s 90s hit songs Taare Gin Gin (Hindi Medium) and Sauda Khara Khara (Good Newwz) were featured in Bollywood films, he remembered his days of redoing old tracks on stage to make them peppier again.

Dubai-based Sukhbir, a Kenyan national, remembers taking Heera group’s Dowain Jaaniya on stage. “If someone says ‘Oh, we have grown old listening to Taare Gin Gin or Nachdi’, I tell them that Dowain Jaaniya was my era. And when they (Hindi cinema) played a bit with my songs, I was happy,” says Sukhbir.

He feels the recreated versions of his songs proved vital in bringing the older version back to life. “Some fans complain that my old songs reworked, whereas the new listeners have started connecting with it. Now, with Nachdi song too it helped people revisit the old times. Bollywood has extended the life of my songs.”

Talking about his meeting with Irrfan, he says, “When Taare Gin... was remade for it, I met Irrfan ji. Such an amazing soul he was. After the shoot woh mujhey kabhi nahi miley. Gazab insaan thay woh.”

“When I remove dark black shades, no one recognises me. Once Kapil Sharma could not recognize me. Once, when Mika Singh, Guru Randhawa and I were together, they got mobbed but no one looked at me, only because I was without shades,” he says about his trademark look.

Sukhbir, who will be seen in a Punjabi film, will also be singing in it. “The talks are on. When I was offered the film, I gave it a lot of thought. I am curious to explore it,” he signs off.

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“I want Ranveer Singh to play my character if a biopic is made. However, if Deepika (Padukone) will play my wife then I will replace Ranveer and will play myself (laughs!),” he says. The singer,who dreams of flying a plane, needs to clock in another 26 hours to get his license. “One day, I want to fly a plane singing at the top of my voice,” he says. However, his son Kabir (6), wants to be an astronaut and fly a rocket. “I have twins — Kabir and daughter Kiran. My wife, Dimpy, wants them to follow their dreams.”