The romantic ballad Jashn-E-Bahaaraa from Jodhaa Akbar (2008) marked singer Javed Ali’s first collaboration with composer A R Rahman. “It was always a dream to work with him and when I got a call from his team for Jashn-E-Bahaaraa, I was ecstatic. I was told that the song was shot already, but it wasn’t composed, written or recorded,” recalls Ali, who was amazed, but also overwhelmed with the experience of working on the track.

The singer adds that around that year, uptempo party numbers were in vogue. So, he was skeptical about how Jashn-E-Bahaara would fare. “The song picked up in no time and didn’t just win the hearts of music lovers, but also got me several awards. The song gave me a new identity and played a huge role in boosting my career,” says Ali.

Sharing how he got on board for the love song, he adds, “I was told that the way Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan saheb (late ghazal legend) sang a bandish in Mughal-E-Azam (1960), Ghulam Ali Khan saheb (ghazal singer from Pakistan) was being considered for Jashn-E-Bahaara. But, Rahman sir and Ashutosh (Gowariker; filmmaker) sir thought my voice was apt for it. We recorded the song in Chennai in about one-and-a-half hours.”