Vishal Bhardwaj And Gulzar To Release Lata Mangeshkar's Lost Song From The '90s On Her Birthday

On Lata Mangeshkar’s 92nd birthday (September 28), her fans will receive a surprise gift from Vishal Bhardwaj and Gulzar — a song.

- Niharika Lal

This unreleased number, called Theek Nahi Lagta, was sung by Lata Mangeshkar in the 1990s, penned by Gulzar, and composed by Vishal. The romantic song was supposed to be for a film that Vishal-Gulzar were working on at the same time as Maachis (1996), and was to be filmed on Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The film eventually got shelved and the song was never released. Vishal tells us the story of how the song, which was recorded when he was just starting off in the industry, was lost and found.

‘I SEARCHED FOR THE SONG 10-12 YEARS AGO BUT COULDN’T FIND IT, THEN TWO-THREE YEARS AGO A STUDIO CALLED ABOUT A TAPE THEY HAD FOUND’

In the ’90s, when Vishal was new in the industry, he started as a composer, and was working with veterans like Lata Mangeshkar and Gulzar. “Along with Maachis, I was doing another film which was also written by Gulzar saab,but the film never got made.Maachis release ho gayi, aur main busy ho gaya,” he tells us, adding that it was for this shelved film that the song was recorded. When we point out that the song reminds one of Maachis’ music album, Vishal says, “Maybe because I was in that zone at that time.”