Singer Kailesh Kher recently called out the “big people” of the industry for replacing him in a song without any prior information. While talking to Bollywood Thikana, he opened up about not getting his due credit for a track he recorded for Aziz Mirza’s 2003 film, Chalte Chalte, which stars Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji in the lead roles.

“I was called to sing a song that was written by Javed Akhtar in the film. I thought if such a big director is calling me, it must not be for nothing. These are big names. So, I went there and sang a song,” recalled the singer, adding, “Gaana bhi ek dum aise pehelwani type ka. It took a lot of effort to sing it.”

But, the Yun Hi Chala Chal (Swades; 2004) singer shared that he received his “first setback” upon finding that he had been replaced. “When the first audio CD of the film came, it didn’t have the name Kailash Kher. It had someone else’s name. I thought, ‘bade aadmi bhi choti harkat kar sakte hain’,” he said, adding that the incident taught him to never get too attached to or affected by the film industry.

Kher also recalled how Akhtar once said that it was their (makers’) loss if they did not keep his voice in the film. “Javed saab said, ‘Iski alag khusboo aur chamak hai, yeh apni pehchan bahut tagde mein banane wala hai.’ We worked together in Swades later and he told me this then,” he recalled.