Last year was a great one for composer-singer Manan Bhardwaj. While his song Aaj Ke Baad from Satyaprem Ki Katha did well, what became the highlight of the year, and perhaps his career so far, was the astounding success of Arjan Vailly from Animal. Ask if he anticipated such response to the song, and the musician says, “I am grateful that it’s done so well. When I compose, I get totally involved in the process and don’t think about the results. I leave everything to God.”

Bhardwaj also feels that the way the song, sung by Punjabi singer Bhupinder Babbal, was picturized in the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer added to the impact: “It has been picturized really well. Most films often don’t do justice to a song in terms of the visuals, but in case of Arjan Vailly, the visuals were apt and the lyrics were justified.”

He agrees that Arjan Vailly’s success has provided impetus to his career. “It helped me feature among the top 100 artistes globally and the song continues to top the charts. I feel a greater sense of responsibility to offer good and original music, and lyrics,” says Bhardwaj, who’s been celebrating the success of the song by buying his “favourite perfumes and new music instruments”.

Talking about the experience of recording the song with Babbal, the 36-year-old adds, “Babbal paaji’s energy on the day of the recording was contagious. We recorded for hours. Me and Sandeep sir (Sandeep Reddy Vanga; director) took a lot of takes for Chak Oye (an uptempo segment of the song). It was so loud that the next day, my neighbours sounded worried for us (laughs).”