Rekha Bhardwaj recalls initially refusing to sing and how Vishal Bhardwaj recorded 'Omkara's 'Namak Ishq Ka' on flip phone: 'Kind of a raunchy song'

As 'Omkara' approaches its 20th anniversary, singer Rekha Bhardwaj shared an interesting story behind one of the film's most celebrated songs, 'Namak Ishq Ka'. The singer revealed that she initially did not want to record the track because she found it extremely challenging.

However, director-composer Vishal Bhardwaj was convinced she was the right voice for the song and eventually persuaded her to sing it.

How the song first took shape

Talking to PTI, Rekha Bhardwaj recalled Vishal Bhardwaj often discussed his compositions with her while working on Omkara. Since he was pressed for time, he frequently shared unfinished tunes and sought her opinion."When 'Namak Ishq Ka' happened, I literally earned it because Vishal was preparing and composing songs. He had very little time, so he would come and sing the songs to me when he composed one or two lines, and would say, 'Is it sounding good? Should I elaborate on this?'" The singer said that at the time she was mostly associated with emotional and soulful songs.

She believed that was her comfort zone as a performer. "Till 'Namak Ishq Ka' happened, I sang mostly emotional, melancholic, soulful songs only because I used to feel that this is what I'm capable of."According to Rekha, the now-famous high notes in 'Namak Ishq Ka' were not originally part of the composition. They emerged spontaneously during one of the early singing sessions. She explained that her riyaaz was at its peak during that period and Vishal often asked her to sing songs he was working on for the film.

This helped him evaluate the compositions from a fresh perspective."Because that would give him perspective, even if it was a male song. So, for this song, he asked me to sing, and I just sang, and 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."

Why did Rekha Bhardwaj want to back out?

Despite impressing Vishal with the initial rendition, Rekha admitted that she was reluctant to sing the final version of the song. She felt the composition was technically demanding and unlike anything she had attempted before. "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.

" The singer's hesitation stemmed not only from the song's complexity but also from its bold and playful tone.

'Omkara's unforgettable soundtrack

Released in 2006, 'Omkara' featured a soundtrack composed by Vishal Bhardwaj with lyrics by Gulzar. Over the years, it has earned a special place in Hindi cinema's musical history. Songs such as 'O Saathi Re,' 'Beedi', 'Naina', 'Jag Ja,' 'Laakad,' 'Omkara' and 'Namak Ishq Ka' continue to be widely appreciated by music lovers.'Omkara' starred Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Bipasha Basu, Konkona Sen Sharma, Naseeruddin Shah and Deepak Dobriyal in pivotal roles.