Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was flown down especially from Pakistan for the recording of Rabba song in Main Aur Mrs Khanna. A source said, "Music directors Sajid Wajid felt that it was only Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's voice that could do justice to the Rabba song. He came from Pakistan to record it."

But ten minutes after recordings, Rahat broke down into tears. The unit wondered what had gone wrong. Had someone behaved badly or hurt the sensitive singer. "It was only probing, that Rahat revealed the truth. He had just lost his mother a few days back and the Rabba track had made him so emotional that he could not help, but cry. Sajid Wajid were moved by Rahat's plight and offered their condolences to the singer."

It was a magical evening for the cast and crew of 'Aladin'. Everyone associated with the film could not withhold them from raving about Amitabh Bachchan and to share the stage with the legend for the first time was like a dream come true for everyone.

Big B along with director Sujoy Ghosh, Riteish Deshmukh and newcomer Jacqueline Fernandez launched the music of ‘Aladin’, which has been composed by the duo Vishal, and Shekhar. Sanjay Dutt could not make it to the event. Nevertheless, his recorded video was enough to get the hearts of his fans flutter.

Promos of 'Aladin' co-produced by Eros and Sujoy Ghosh’s Boundscript films were showcased which definitely seemed to be outstanding.

'Aladin' is slated to release on October 30.

Nightingale of the century the veteran Lata Mangeshkar has glorified the country’s name with every song she has sung. This Queen of melody completes her 80th birthday on September 28. On this prestigious occasion, Saregama decided to pay tribute to this living legend. The music company has compiled a new collection of eight CDs comprising all her resonant songs.

The album is tilted ‘80 Glorious Years of Lata Mangeshkar: Safalta Ki Shikhar Par Kal Bhi Aaj Bhi’. Each CD has selection of chartbuster songs through her career (40’s-2000’s). The album comprises of songs like ‘Jiya Beqarar Hai’ from the film ‘Barsaat’ (1949), ‘Lara Lappa Lara Lappa Laai’ from film ‘Ek thi Ladki’ (1950), ‘Inhin Logon Ne’ from film ‘Pakeezah’ (1971), ‘Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya’ from’ Mughal-e-Azam’ (1960), ‘Bindiya Chamke Gi’ from ‘Do Raste’ (1969), ‘Dekha Ek Khwab’ from ‘Silsila’ (1981), ‘Chudiyan Khanak Gayeen’ from ‘Lamhe’ (1991), ‘Kuch Na Kaho’ from ‘1942-Love Story’ (1994) and many more.

This premium album also contains Lataji’s rare photographs through the decades. The collection apart from the photographs also contains a write-up personally written by Yash Chopra for his loving elder sister along with their photograph together.

Perhaps it takes two to tango when it comes to Amitabh Bachchan. For a key song and dance sequence in Sujoy Ghosh directed 'Aladin', there is not one, but a pair of Riteish Deshmukh that is being seen.

No, Riteish doesn't have a double role in the film, but this fun song is set in such a way that 'Aladin', played by Riteish, sits and watches the proceedings passively while his alter ego, a much active and vibrant Riteish, grabs the opportunity and matches steps with 'Genius- The Genie' Amitabh Bachchan. The song in question? 'Make A Wish'.

Reluctant to talk much about the sequence in the film, he said, "I can't reveal much about the song and why there are two of me in it. But yes, it was indeed some hard work for me to justify my presence alongside Mr. Bachchan on stage. It looks all fun when seen on screen, but how I wish I could have just stood in a corner and just watched him perform. He is just so amazing and vibrant and can put all of us from the current generation to shame."

A flashy number that boasts of a horde of background dancers, striking sets, some cool costumes and a glitzy picturisation, 'Make A Wish' is said to be one of the many highlights of 'Aladin'.

Says Sujoy Ghosh, "My greed to feature Mr. Bachchan in every song and dance number for 'Aladin' only went on to increase once 'Make A Wish' was conceptualized. Bringing together Riteish and him was fantastic and together they were a riot. It is also commendable in the way the song comes across on screen because a lot of it was shot against a green wall. Reason being that there is good dose of VFX and special effects that were required to be incorporated in the song."

Understandably so because a substantial part of 'Make A Wish' has both Riteish Deshmukhs dancing on each sides of Amitabh Bachchan. With music by Vishal and Shekhar, 'Aladin' is co-produced by Sunil Lulla from Eros International and Sujoy Ghosh’s Boundscript. The film is all set for 30th October release.

Are we going to see a revolution of sorts in months to come as far as soundtracks of Bollywood films is considered? That's because if one looks at the recent album releases like TUM MILE and LONDON DREAMS, there is something in common- 'There is no female singer roped in to render even a single track'.

Shocking, but indeed true!

Surprisingly, both the films are hardcore musicals. While TUM MILE comes from the house of Bhatts, it is but naturally a musical entertainer with Pritam churning out some fabulous tunes for this Emraan Hashmi starrer. Even though there are five distinct tracks in the film, each of them has been sung by a male vocalist, whether it is Neeraj Sridhar, K.K., Mohit Chauhan, Javed Ali or Shafqat Amanat Ali. For a romantic film like TUM MILE with Soha Ali Khan as the leading lady, it is indeed a surprising decision by the makers to keep the album completely male dominated. However, since the album is complete 'paisa vasool', one doesn't mind the aberration.

On the other hand, even LONDON DREAMS sees a similar route being followed. Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy have kept women out of this musical for Vipul Shah, which has a rock base to it. Absence of a female singer is even more glaring here since there are as many as eight distinct tracks. There is quite some range of male singers like Vishal Dadlani, Roop Kumar Rathod, Shankar Mahadevan, Feroz Khan, Mohan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Milind, Abhijeet Ghoshal and Zubeen Garg. Still, not a single track warranted a female singer to come behind the mike.

One wonders though if this may indeed turn out to be a trend of sorts in months to come? Looks quite doubtful though because Bollywood has traditionally been a 'naach-gaana' affair and though an album or two may have to follow a different route in order to comply with the film's genre, a clear demarcation can't really be made in soundtracks to follow.

He gazes outside wistfully, lost in thought, then picks up a tanpura and launches into an impromptu piece. The drone of the instrument subsides, he smiles. It’s just a fraction of what’s in store for audiences at the Bandra Fort tomorrow at the Times of India Eid concert.

Settling into his book-lined study, he talks about the concert. “I don’t do any preparation before a concert. I leave the technical details to the technical people. I just turn up and sing. When I sing, I judge the mood of the audience, the vibe and the feel of the place. Then I sing what they have come to hear,” he says. And speaking of what he doesn’t want to hear, Jagjit Singh is quite clear about that. “I don’t like films with four dances, two or three fights and two sex scenes. If somebody comes to me, I will have to check the song. Firstly, the lyrics have to be dignified. That means no vulgar double meanings. Then the melody should be nice and should fit my image. I cannot sing just any nonsense. Oh, by the way, what’s that recent song? Dhan dhana dhan or tana tan? Is it poetry or what?” he asks?

There is genuine concern in his tone. He is not merely being dismissive or derisive. For he yearns to preserve and nurture that rich past lineage from which he hails. “I remember many evenings of poetry and music of old with my peers and contemporaries. With khichdi and chhole to satisfy hunger pangs afterward,” he recalls, adding, “I believe in doing things wholeheartedly. Himesh? A singer? First let him make up his mind whether he is a singer, director or an actor. Please don’t discuss him with me if you want to discuss Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia with me,” he says.

Apart from his music, there is something else that he indulges in to the full, and that is horse racing. He’s mad about it. A huge stack of Cole books, and photos everywhere of him and his prize studs is evidence. “I own a few horses. I’m extremely passionate about that. But it’s not the most profitable of hobbies; You do it for the passion of it,” he says.