Relaunch of ‘Papa Kehte Hain’ by Aamir, Udit Narayan rekindles memories of ‘QSQT’

The clock wound 36 years back in time at Mumbai’s Andrews College with the relaunch of Hindi cinema’s iconic song ‘Papa Kehte Hain’ on Monday.

The song was relaunched as a part of the upcoming Rajkummar Rao-starrer ‘Shrikanth’.

At the media event, Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan and the king of 1990s playback, veteran singer Udit Narayan, engaged in a fun banter as they walked down the memory lane.

Talking to the media, the legendary singer said, “We all in the team of ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’ were starting off in the industry at that time. I was particularly quite nervous, and felt if this song didn’t work, I would have to pack my bags and go back to my hometown.”

Aamir chimed in as he quipped, “Aur mujhe dekh ke toh inko pakka laga hoga, ‘Ye hero hai toh fir pakka saamaan baandh kar vapas jana padega’ (Looking at a debut actor like me at that time, he must’ve felt that it’s definitely time for him to pack bags)”.

36 years later, things have humongously changed for the two gentlemen. While one is a Bollywood superstar and has made path-breaking films, the other has serenaded a generation of music lovers with his tracks in the 1990s along with his professional arch-rival but best friend Kumar Sanu.

Udit’s honeyglazed voice hasn’t changed one bit in close to four decades.

The recent success of ‘Main Nikla Gaddi Leke’ from ‘Gadar 2’ is a testimony to the power of his voice that can still move eyes to tears as was evident at the event on Monday with several members of the media fraternity tearing up looking at the pair of Aamir and Udit sharing the stage for a song which practically launched the career of both of them.

Everyone has a ‘Papa Kehte Hain Bada Naam Karega’ moment in their lives and Rajkummar Rao is no exception. He told the media that he used to listen to the song for inspiration and motivation while shuttling between his home in Gurgaon and his theatre institute on his bicycle.

Music composer Aditya Deb, who has redone ‘Papa Kehte Hain’, shared that he requested Udit to re-record a small bit of the song on a 6/8 time signature for the song. The composer was left amazed at Udit’s craft as he recorded the bit in a single take.

‘Shrikanth’ is set to arrive in cinemas on May 10.