Mika Singh’s ‘Sawan mein lag gayi aag’ remains a chartbuster to date, from weddings to big parties it is a song that is belted out on most happy occasions. Not only that but the song also got immense popularity to the singer and also sealed his fame for eternity. The world now knows that it was Mika who composed and wrote the lyrics of his own song but that was not always the case- there was a point in time when the singer had tried to link the song to Javed Akhtar and AR Rahman.
In a recent interview with The Lallantop, the singer admitted to using Javed Akhtar and AR Rahman’s names so that people would take him more seriously. He spoke about how he deeply appreciated their work and believed that if he told people that they had contributed towards the song, people would only like it more.
Talking about Javed Akhtar, he said, “I love Javed saab. I met him a few times at some shows. I have always been a little ill-mannered… He wouldn’t pay any attention to me. This was just after ‘Ganpat’ had come out. We were at an awards function, and I was supposed to enter in a grand fashion. I thought that Javed saab would definitely notice me, but he didn’t.”
Mika then went on to describe how he tried very hard to garner Akhtar’s attention but only failed. He opened up about all the tricks he pulled off in order to get attention from Javed Akhtar but was saddened when the legendary lyricist did not even bother.
“I jumped on the table, and pulled his ear. His head twisted backwards, and I touched his feet and told him I’m a great fan. He said, ‘Jaao’. I really want him to notice me and praise my work, but he always ignores me at first. Then he waves at me, but from a distance,” Mika added.
There was much controversy about whether Javed Akhtar had actually written the lyrics for the song. Mika Singh was criticised heavily when it first came to light that Javed Akhtar had nothing to do with the song.
Mika said, “When I made the song, I would ask everyone if they liked it. They would ask me who wrote it, and I knew that if I said I’d written it, they wouldn’t take the song seriously. So, I would tell people that Javed Akhtar helped write it, and that AR Rahman helped with the music.”