Renowned playback singer Rekha Bhardwaj has revealed that she initially did not want to sing the popular track 'Namak Ishq Ka' from the 2006 film Omkara. The song, composed by her husband Vishal Bhardwaj and penned by Gulzar, went on to become one of the most celebrated numbers in Hindi cinema.
The Story Behind the Song
During the making of Omkara, Vishal Bhardwaj's adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello, he would often discuss the music with his singer-wife Rekha. In a recent interview with PTI, Rekha shared how the high notes in the track were not originally composed but were added spontaneously during a casual recording session.
Rekha said, 'When 'Namak Ishq Ka' happened, I literally earned it. Vishal was preparing and composing songs with very little time. He would come and sing the songs to me when he composed one or two lines and ask, 'Is it sounding good? Should I elaborate on this?'
She added, 'Till 'Namak Ishq Ka' happened, I sang mostly emotional, melancholic, soulful songs because I felt that was what I was capable of.'
The High Notes Were Accidental
According to Rekha, her rigorous practice (riyaaz) at the time was at its peak, and Vishal often made her sing the songs he composed for the film, even if they were meant for male voices. 'For this song, he asked me to sing, and I just sang. Naturally, the high notes got added. The high was not composed at that time, but I just sang it, and he said 'wow'. He recorded it on his Motorola flip phone and said, 'Let me record this. You will forget it, and I will also forget it.''
Despite the spontaneous creation, Rekha initially felt the song was too challenging. 'Later, I said, 'I can't sing this song. It's a very difficult song.' If you see the graph, it changes and changes and changes. Also, it was a bit of a challenge for me to sing that kind of a raunchy song,' she explained.
Legacy of Omkara's Music
The soundtrack of Omkara, composed by Vishal Bhardwaj with lyrics by Gulzar, is still counted among the most celebrated music albums in Hindi cinema. Hits like 'O Saathi Re', 'Omkara', 'Beedi', 'Jag Ja', 'Naina', 'Laakad', and 'Namak Ishq Ka' remain timeless classics.
The film featured an ensemble cast including Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Bipasha Basu, Konkona Sen Sharma, Naseeruddin Shah, and Deepak Dobriyal. Released on July 28, 2006, the crime drama is regarded as one of Hindi cinema's finest literary adaptations.
Omkara was the second film in Vishal Bhardwaj's Shakespearean trilogy, following Maqbool (2003), inspired by Macbeth, and preceding Haider (2014), an adaptation of Hamlet.
