Imtiaz Ali Revisits AR Rahman Composing Amar Singh Chamkila Farewell Song Vida Karo At Dead Of Night

Imtiaz Ali is basking in the success of his recent directorial Amar Singh Chamkila. The film premiered on Netflix on April 12 and received a massively positive response from the audience. Apart from the story, the songs from the musical drama have also become chartbusters. Vida Karo, composed by AR Rahman is one such song that has become viral on social media. In a new interview, the filmmaker reveals how the song came to be. 

Imtiaz Ali recalls Rahman composing Vida Karo at 2:30 am 

Vida Karo plays in the background during the climax scene of Amar Singh Chamkila. The song poses as a farewell to the slain Punjabi singer and his partner Amarjot Kaur who are shot dead by unknown men. Vida Karo is inspired by a poem by Shiv Kumar Batalvi and narrates the tale of Chamkila accepting his inevitable end and requesting to be free from the bias and prejudices he faced from society. 

Talking to Radio Nasha about the song, Imtiaz shared, “Rahman came and sat at his piano at 2:30 am when I and Irshad Kamil were getting ready to leave his studio. He said to switch off the lights and asked for some candles to be lit so that we enjoy the process.” He recalled talking to the composer about old Hindi songs and ‘music from Guru Dutt films’. The director added that he simply ‘enjoyed’ the process as a spectator and had no input in the song. 

Imtiaz Ali reasons why Arijit Singh voiced the song

In the same conversation, Imtiaz recollected Irshad Kamil writing the lyrics of Vida Karo in less than an hour. He shared, “Irshad sat down and wrote the lines within 45 minutes. Rahman said let’s sit down and compose the song right now. While it was happening, some people started crying in the studio. Rahman joked ‘What have you done Irshad Kamil, you are making people cry’.” He added that after the song was ready, it was Rahman’s demand for Arijit Singh to give his voice to the lyrics. 

He added, “When a composer sings their song, there is a gravitas and attachment to it. Sometimes you need a singer who can sing the melody with the same attachment. Arijit brings that to the music — he sings truthfully and without milawat.” He also praises Arijit and mentions that in a time where AI and auto-tune are being used rampantly, the Tum Hi Ho singer brings authenticity to a song. The Jab We Met hitmaker concluded by saying, “I also enjoy that he sings the whole song. He doesn’t sing one line to bring it in ‘sur’. In this era when people say you can auto-tune or get AI to sing the song, he sings truthfully.”