Bollywood filmmaker Imtiaz Ali has been making headlines for his upcoming partition romantic drama Mai Wapas Aaunga. Known for his unique storytelling and emotionally rich narratives, the director recently opened up about one of his most iconic films, Rockstar, and revealed an interesting behind-the-scenes story involving Ranbir Kapoor and music maestro AR Rahman.
Ranbir Kapoor 'Freaked Out'
Imtiaz Ali recently took to Instagram to wish actor Vedang Raina on his birthday and, in the process, shared an unknown fact from the making of Rockstar.
The filmmaker revealed that during the film's production, AR Rahman had suggested that Ranbir Kapoor sing the songs himself if he was capable of doing so. However, Imtiaz was initially hesitant about the idea and did not think it would work.
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Sharing an audio note on Instagram, Imtiaz said, “I remember AR Rahman sir had asked me during Rockstar whether Ranbir sings. If he could, then Rahman sir thought it’s a great idea for him to sing all the songs of Rockstar. And I said, “No sir. Please don’t even go in that direction." And Rahman was like “Let’s see how good or bad he is." I had told Ranbir, and Ranbir had freaked out doubly more than me and he said, “No, please. I never want to sing in front of him." So that didn’t happen."
Eventually, the makers brought in professional playback singers for the film's soundtrack. The album featured around 14 songs written by Irshad Kamil, while singer Mohit Chauhan lent his voice to nine tracks that went on to become a defining part of Rockstar's identity. The album later became one of the most celebrated musical works of AR Rahman's career.
Imtiaz Shares Story Behind 'Maskara'
Imtiaz also spoke about actors singing in his films and recalled how Alia Bhatt, Parineeti Chopra and Diljit Dosanjh became playback singers for projects he directed.
He said, “In the next film, Alia became the first actor in my film to sing playback and that was really amazing. Then there were Parineeti and Diljit who sang in Chamkila. And now there’s Diljit who’s singing in Main Vapas Aaunga. But the fresh news of course is that young Vedang Raina is singing his own part in Maskara song. And he has achieved this on merit."
The filmmaker further revealed how Vedang eventually got the opportunity to sing in the song.
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“I had come to know that Vedang sings. I am very excited about actors who can sing, because I have a dream of making a musical where actors are singing and acting and dancing, and record everything live. I get very excited when actors can do singing and music. So I had heard and I asked Vedang. This is much before we began shooting. Vedang sent some of his songs and they were very nice. He happened to be at the office when Hiral, who works with Rahman sir, who is the music supervisor of this film, happened to visit. We were talking about Maskara song. And then while we were going through the tune, Vedang was there. Being a music person, he was interested. Hiral asked him whether he sings. We asked him to sing those parts right there."
“He was hitting the notes and then we invited him to come to Rahman sir’s studio that night. And he sang there. And he was being very meticulous, he was a little nervous. But he wanted to get it right and it was a huge thing for him. I saw him touching his ears when Rahman’s sir’s name was taken. But he has come through. Rahman sir heard him. Impressed, and now everyone is humming Vedang’s part in Maskara."
About Mai Wapas Aaunga
Mai Wapas Aaunga is a partition romantic drama starring Diljit Dosanjh, Vedang Raina and Sharvari Wagh in lead roles. The film is scheduled to hit theatres on June 12, 2026.
With the film generating considerable buzz, Imtiaz's latest revelation has also given fans a fascinating glimpse into what could have been one of the most surprising musical decisions in Rockstar.