LAHORE, June 7: Noted Pakistani singer and music composer Shiraz Uppal has once again teamed up with A.R. Rehman for the title song of upcoming Bollywood film ‘Ranjahanna’ starring Dhanush and Sonam Kapoor.

‘Ranjahanna’ is being released on June 21 the world over and Uppal is likely to leave for India on this occasion. The singer will also discuss some other projects with the Indian directors who have contacted him.

‘Ranjahanna’ has been directed by Aanand Rai and the lyrics of the songs have been written by Irshad Kamil.

Uppal told Dawn that earlier too he had worked with A.R. Rehman in October 2012 when they performed in One World Peace Concert in New York. The other artists who performed in this event were Dave Mathews, Natasha Bedingfiled, Nelly Furtado, Cyndi Lauper, Phillip Phillips and Whoopie Goldberg, he said.

Uppal started his Bollywood career back in 2007 when he composed and sang ‘Roya Re’ for Pooja Bhatt’s ‘Dhoka’ and it went on to become one of the biggest hits of the year. Besides his music albums released in Pakistan, ‘Ankahi’ was the first to release in India in 2009. The song ‘Rabba’ from this album was selected for the movie ‘Aashayein’ starring John Abraham and Sonal Sehgal. Uppal also won the ‘Indian Mirchi Music Award 2010’ for this song.

Uppal told this correspondent that he owned a state-of-the-art studio (S.U Studios) in Lahore where he composed and produced his songs. “My music always carries substance and melodies that are gentle, uncluttered and genuine,” he said.

From ‘Dhoka’ to ‘Life Online’ to ‘Boys’, Uppal prepares to make his mark on the Bollywood industry one more time. He said following the success of ‘Roya Re’, he had been approached by Bollywood actor/writer Akash Khurana (of Aashiqi, Krishh, Duplicate and Baazigar fame) to feature one of his songs from his Jhuki Jhuki album, Munn Ja Vey, in Akash’s upcoming film ‘Life Online’.

A.R. Rahman had just completed recording of Shiraz Uppal for his upcoming film ‘Boys’. Uppal recorded the vocals for the song featured in the film ‘Secret of Success’ in his studio in Lahore whereas the music and composition was done and recorded in India. Abbas Tyrewala wrote the lyrics of the song and S. Shankar has directed it.

The film was originally released in 2003 in Tamil and was quite successful in the market. It is now being dubbed in Hindi and Uppal has been invited to participate in the soundtrack. The film’s original score in Tamil was also done by A.R. Rehman.

‘Boys’ stars Siddarth Narayan who began his acting career with this film. He has made his mark in films across three languages -- Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. The heroine of the film, Genelia D’Souza also acts in local-language films and has Bollywood films such as Masti, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, It’s My Life and Life Partner to her credit. Previously, Uppal had worked with A.R. Rehman on the film ‘Nayak’.

He has also produced music for other artists as well, including Atif Aslam, Noori, Zeb and Haniya, JAL, Amanat and Fariha Pervez.

Opinion

Editorial

Wheat price crash
Updated 20 May, 2024

Wheat price crash

What the government has done to Punjab’s smallholder wheat growers by staying out of the market amid crashing prices is deplorable.
Afghan corruption
20 May, 2024

Afghan corruption

AMONGST the reasons that the Afghan Taliban marched into Kabul in August 2021 without any resistance to speak of ...
Volleyball triumph
20 May, 2024

Volleyball triumph

IN the last week, while Pakistan’s cricket team savoured a come-from-behind T20 series victory against Ireland,...
Border clashes
19 May, 2024

Border clashes

THE Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier has witnessed another series of flare-ups, this time in the Kurram tribal district...
Penalising the dutiful
19 May, 2024

Penalising the dutiful

DOES the government feel no remorse in burdening honest citizens with the cost of its own ineptitude? With the ...
Students in Kyrgyzstan
Updated 19 May, 2024

Students in Kyrgyzstan

The govt ought to take a direct approach comprising convincing communication with the students and Kyrgyz authorities.