Tevar, featuring Arjun Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha and Manoj Bajpayee in lead roles, is a tale of unrequited love. Pintoo Shukla (Arjun), a local kabaddi champion in Agra, takes it upon himself to protect Radhika (Sonakshi) from Gajender Singh (Bajpayee), a local Bahubali from Mathura. Produced by Sanjay Kapoor, Sunil Lulla, Naresh Agarwal and Sunil Manchanda, the film marks the directorial debut of ad filmmaker Amit Ravindernath Sharma.

One of the highlights of the film is its music. Composed by Sajid-Wajid, the songs have caught the audience's fancy and feature on almost every music chart. What's interesting about the album is that it brings back typical Bollywood music - be it a romantic track between the leads or an introductory song of the hero and heroine or an item number. Says Wajid, “This is a complete masala album.“

SUPERMAN
Sajid-Wajid composed this song even before the script narration. Amit wanted a number that had enough attitude to go with the film and the duo could think of nothing better. While the original has been sung by Wajid, Mika has rendered the remix version. The makers even involved locals from Mathura and Agra in the song to lend authenticity to it.

Arjun, who loved the track from the word go, says, “The response has been overwhelming. It encapsulates the spirit of the film.“ What's more, Prabhu Dheva and Shaan even called the music director duo to congratulate them on the song.

Says Wajid, “Superman reflects Pintoo's street-smart lingo and his care-a-damn attitude. The line combines two heavyweights - Superman and Salman Khan.“ Adds Sajid, “This is our second film with Boney sir and we were confident that he would give our song a large canvas.“


JOGANIYA
It's an unconventional romantic track with husky vocals by Shruti Haasan. The song was shot in the rain for three consecutive nights. It was Amit who suggested that Shruti should render the song. “Joganiya had a body, but it needed a soul and that's exactly where Shruti came in.She is a trained singer, but has never attempted something like this,“ he states.


LET'S CELEBRATE
Several people were keen on signing Dutch pop star Imran Khan for their films. But the singer-rapper, who shares a warm rapport with Sanjay, agreed to be a part of his movie. Says Imran, “It was great fun working with the team. I hope this song too gets the kind of love that Amplifier got here.“

Adds Sanjay, “I'm glad that Imran agreed to associate himself with our film. His fans have made the song popular.“ What makes this number all the more special is that Sonakshi has made her singing debut with it. It was Imran who convinced her to croon a few lines. She says, “The song is shot in a fun selfie style. It adds a hip hop flavour to the album.“

Not just that, Prabhu Dheva dropped in on the set while the track was being shot. He loved it so much that he spent ample time with the lead stars while they rehearsed for the song along with choreographer Remo D'Souza.


RADHA NACHEGI
Radha Nachegi is Sonakshi's introductory song in the film. Shot at Maheshwar Ghat in Indore, the number is an extravagant affair. Even though Sonakshi suffered from back problems while shooting for the song, she would rehearse for it through the day and then shoot for it at nights. Says she, “I felt like a diva shooting for this number.“ Says the director, “It's an amalgamation of traditional music and contemporary hip hop.“


MADAMIYA
The fun track, sung by Mika Singh, features Shruti in a sensual avatar along with Arjun. Shruti, who had heard the song in the studio while recording Joganiya, liked it so much that she wanted to be part of it.
The song had several long dance sequences.Despite not having rehearsed for it, the actress performed flawlessly, leaving the unit impressed.Recalls Arjun, “Shruti and I had a blast shooting for the song and that shows on screen.“

Tevar, produced by Eros International and Sanjay Kapoor Entertainment, releases January 9. 

Imran Khan, 30, sees colours when he makes music. He is a born leader, who is emotional and often misunderstood. He believes that it is due to his clean heart that he has come so far. He is dominating and that is why his company is called 'Imran Khan World' as he believes that it is the best place in the world. Over an hour-long conversation, on his first visit to India, post the release of his song Let's Celebrate from the film Tevar, he talks to Bombay Times about his naughty childhood, his rebellious nature and why he wants to work with Salman Khan. Excerpts:

Why do you dress like a rapper when you are not one?
I am born in The Hague in Holland. My parents are originally from Pakistan. My dad was in a government job, where, when people without a family died at home, my dad and his colleagues were sent to pick up all their stuff and auction it. For him, it was a big thing, having come from Pakistan and just established himself there. My mom is a housewife. Initially, I was only interested in sports. Music was a side thing. I was always outside the house playing football and basketball and was very naughty. I dropped out in Class II and sold my books. Even though I had no money, I was always chilling. I could just not sit at home even for 10 minutes. I always needed to go out. My parents had no hope from me and did not know what to do with me. My other two siblings, both went to school and were well-educated. My parents could just not control me, so they then sent me to a special school, but that too did not help. They would hit me and I would sometimes even hit my mom back. I was very stubborn, unaffected by any amount of hitting. I was also strong physically so even if I was bruised, I would be unaffected. I was always a paagal, who was very hatke. Can you imagine, I was supposed to be a part of NBA Juniors for Holland? I was 15 and the best player in the team. One day, my coach called me and said that the NBA Junior's selection team had come to look for talent. I was underage, but was selected by them to go to the US and train. All they wanted was 300 euros, but for us that was a lot of money. I went home and asked ammi even though I knew her answer would be no. We were too poor to afford 300 euros and, of course, as expected she said a flat No. I was heart-broken, but only for one day as I knew we could not afford it. Anyways, when I was 18, I moved away from sports and became interested in music. And with my mother's dua and through music, I became okay. I am a Punjabi singer, not a rapper even though I may wear caps and shades. I like wearing them. When I was younger, I could not afford to buy them. Rappers come from the streets. I come from the streets too.

How naughty were you?
I got into a lot of police trouble. I had police chasing me, but if you go to Holland, you will not find any record against me, even though I have slapped the police there. I was very young when they once held me for a house robbery that I had not done. I could see the chors running, but the police caught me as they found only me there at that time. Two police officers, one man and one woman, caught me. I felt I would get stuck, so I slapped both of them really hard and ran away. They tried to look for me using dogs, bikes, police cars, but I even hit the police dog as he wanted to bite me. There was always this vibe in the house that I was less than my siblings. But I was very confident. I was born one piece in the world. I thought they were mad to be studying. Now they regret it, as today despite having management degrees, they are sitting at home with no job. I would tell them, 'Bunk studying. Do something else, go drug dealing or rob a bank, but do something.' I was a complete rebel, but now I have converted that into my music even though I still cannot tolerate any injustice of any kind around me.

Who do you love the most in the world?
In your life, you will have only one mum. She may not have understood me, but I also did not understand her. As I have grown up, I now understand her. You will keep building friends, girlfriends and business relationships, but mum, you only get once. She thinks like a mother. All that she is interested in is, 'Have you reached Imran?' 'Have you eaten?' She went to Mecca with my dad and she told me that when she saw the Kaba for the first time, her dua was only that Imran should come on the right path. As per Islam, it is believed that when you see the Kaba for the first time, whatever you pray for comes true. It was just after that that my life changed.

Your album Unforgettable was on top of the UK charts in 2009. How did you get your first break?
Right from the age of 15, I would do anything day and night to make money. I would wash dishes, anything. I realised that in society, you have to have money, otherwise you are nothing. With the money I would make, I would go clubbing with my friends. One such friend from UK Shahid Mazhar, was the first to spot the talent in me. He felt that I could change the music scenario in UK. He believed in me and gave me that push and the confidence. That was the first time in my life that some one had told me that I could do something. He took me to Pakistan, made 8 songs with me, but I did not like the master and despite him having spent money on me, I didn't want to come badly, so I called Shahid and told him that. He was my manager cum father figure and we decided to break that CD and returned to Holland. I was worried about the money he had invested in me. While I had gone all the way to Pakistan to make music, just two streets away from my house, I found a Turkish producer who was the right person to make music for me. I called Shahid again and he once again funded my project and I launched Ni Nachleh that topped the record for all Punjabi songs in the UK. I became a star overnight.

Have you become more responsible now?
My parents had no umeed on me, so I had to sort out my life. But now that I have done well, I have to sort out and help my brother, my sister, my dad and my mom too. If I am buying an 80,000 euros chain for myself, at least I have to buy 20,000 euros kadhas for her. My mother loves me the most. I was the rebel, so she was always worried about me. I was the problem creator jiski umeed nahi thi. But she was wrong and am proud of my achievement. In 2011, I would drink 10 bottles at a time. But I had a bad accident in Dubai a few years back and now, I don't drink at all. I was so busy doing shows, drinking and chasing money that I fell down from the stairs and had a blackout. I broke my head, my ribs, everything. I was almost dead and had blood in my brains. I was out of action for a month, but it was God's warning and I started looking after myself. I am bright and arrogant but am also responsible. My mother still finds me badtameez and feels that I have become even more badtameez now and that is something I want to correct. Post every Ramzan, you must change something about yourself. Post this Ramzan, I have started praying once a day. I hate being used. I do a lot for people and then expect too much from them. I must change that. I want to put my stamp on the world and explode like a bomb with happiness and positivity.

Who is your emotional anchor?
The Prophet. Religion is so beautiful. I have read the Quran a few times and I feel like Allah pulls me to Him. If I do something bad, He puts me back immediately.

Are you in a relationship?
I was never into girls. I was like a player. Every girl I liked was with me. I had one serious affair when I was 17, but that didn't work out. I love to hang around with guys, not girls.

Why didn't you come to Bollywood earlier?
I knew my worth and Bollywood did too. Many big stars came to me, but I didn't like the way they came to me. They all just wanted to have a piece of my cake. Bollywood music is too cheesy and I would like to change it. At the moment, I give 0.0 to the music in Bollywood.

What made you say a yes to Sanjay Kapoor to sing the song Let's Celebrate for Tevar?
I built a heart connection with him and even though the financial side was not okay, he was caring and gave me respect. I wanted to enter India in the right way .

Who do you look forward to working with in Bollywood?
Salman Khan. He is not just good-looking, but has something strong coming out of him. I would also like to work with Aamir Khan and Prabhu Dheva. I am a big Prabhu Dheva fan. He is the best dancer, in fact, even a better dancer than Michael Jackson.

The new trend now seems to be actors and actresses singing for themselves in their own films. Amongst the actors, apart from Farhan Akhtar and Ali Zafar, who are professional singers, Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan have recently sung their own songs.

Amongst the actresses, earlier Alia Bhatt and now Shraddha Kapoor, have sung. We have now learnt that Sonakshi Sinha has sung a line in the song Let's Celebrate in her upcoming film Tevar. What makes this special is the fact that she has made her singing debut with the internationally popular Punjabi singer Imran Khan, who is also making his Bollywood debut with this song. Sonakshi recently tweeted her picture, where she features in Yo Yo Honey Singh's video, and now she has sung for Imran Khan, making her the first star to have worked with two of the top entertainers internationally. We hope that she will not show us her Tevar now.

Sonakshi Sinha is a lovely girl to work with and we were not surprised when we found this special cake, with shoes on it, that her Tevar producer Sanjay Kapoor brought for her. He got it to celebrate her last day of the 100-day schedule that ended on Thursday. Just like us, Sonakshi also must be touched for sure.