‘SRK earned the king khan moniker after Baadshah’
As his iconic album from Baadshah and the film’s hit title song complete 25 years, composer Anu Malik goes down memory lane for HT City’s silver jubilee year
Navya Kharbanda (HINDUSTAN TIMES; February 4, 2024)

Twenty-five years after it released, Abbas-Mustan’saction comedy Baadshah, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Twinkle Khanna, continues to have a cult fan following. A major chunk of this appeal owes itself to the film’s music, especially the title song, which was composed by Anu Malik.

“The title track, Baadshah O Baadshah, has a great recall value for me. In fact, I had hummed this tune to Shah Rukh on the flight with different words. He fell in love with the tune and then we thought of the word Baadshah. When Abbas-Mustan heard the idea, they felt that it goes with the title track. SRK earned the monikers King Khan and Baadshah after this song,” recalls Malik, who had previously scored for an SRK film in 1994 (Baazigar).

The composer also credits the director duo’s “interesting and unique” storytelling for the film’s success. “They bring a lot of thrill and suspense in their films. For Baadshah, everything fell into place perfectly, including the star cast. It was a team effort that paid off, and the film rightly deserves to be relevant 25 years later.”

The music composer is “proud” of the work he has done in the years following the film. “It is a huge milestone — bahut hote hain 25 saal. It is an achievement for any artiste to know that their work has completed so many years. It makes me happy that I have made music that continues to make people happy even 25 years later,” the 63-year-old ends.
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I would like to congratulate HT City for a successful 25 years, you did a commendable job. Many more successful years to follow and I hope I am around and can celebrate with you even on your 50 year anniversary..

‘SRK earned the king khan moniker after Baadshah’