Pal Pal Hai Bhaari, a Swades song featuring Shah Rukh Khan, was recorded in a hotel room with 25 people

Shah Rukh Khan’s film Swades is regarded as a pivotal point in his career. Playback singer Madushree Bhattacharya recently related an interesting story about recording the movie’s song Pal Pal Hai Bhaari in an interview.

Though Madushree Bhattacharya revealed that A R Rahman had assumed the song would be sung by Alka Yagnik, he spontaneously called for an urgent recording of it. The film’s shooting was to begin the next day, so the song—a difficult 7-8 minute composition with three distinct ragas—presented a daunting challenge.

In the midst of a hectic recording session, the singer later found herself in a hotel room with twenty to twenty-five people. On the other side of her were Ashutosh Gowariker, Javed Akhtar, Shah Rukh Khan, and their ensemble. Her difficulty pronouncing the word “Bipata” was especially apparent, and it caused Javed Akhtar to express disapproval.

She added that Rahman motioned for a break and turned her chair in an attempt to hide her from the attention when he sensed her anxiety. It changed everything because she was able to master the difficult song without having to worry about having an onlooker staring at her.

Madushree acknowledged that she wasn’t sure if the song she sang would end up in the movie’s final cut. For the final dubbing, Rahman had promised to call her, but he never did. She was nevertheless invited to the movie’s music launch party, where she learned that the song she had recorded in her hotel room had been included in the finished cut.