Anu Malik was left shocked when he learnt the news of Zubeen Garg’s death on Friday. “I had first met him through a person from Assam. I made him sing in Fiza (2000), and we got along like a house on fire. He was very emotional about his sister, whom he had lost in an accident. His live concerts were deadly. Yeh khabar sunke mann khatta ho gaya hai,” the music composer shares. Anu and Zubeen went on to collaborate in films like Mission Istaanbul (2008), Main Prem ki Deewani Hoon (2003), and more.

“He used to tell me he had blackouts suddenly. I told him, ‘Go and get yourself checked’. Then we lost track over the years. Usne phone bhi nahin kiya, chala gaya. The call of the hills, of his own Assam was very strong,” the 64-year-old adds.

Anu further recalls how he kept calling the singer to Mumbai, but he never wanted to leave his place: “One day he told me. ‘Anu sir, I don’t want to come back to Mumbai. Aap bula loge toh aa jaaunga, aur gaana gaate hi waapis Assam nikal jaaunga because I am more interested in social work’. He used to go and help people affected in the floods, he was running a charity. I was very close to him; he would keep telling me about the work undertaken.”

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday that he will receive Zubeen’s mortal remains in Delhi and they will be brought to Guwahati on a special aircraft on Sunday. Zubeen was in Singapore for the North East Festival and died in a scuba diving accident. Multiple FIRs have been filed against Shyam Kanu Mahanta, organiser of the festival, and his manager Siddhartha Sharma. The three-day festival was scheduled to begin on Friday, but was cancelled after Zubeen’s death. Assam chief secretary Ravi Kota announced state mourning from September 20 to September 22.