'Hakle ke liye...': Abhijeet Bhattacharya recalls being mocked for singing for Shah Rukh Khan; wants to patch up with...

Days after sparking debate over Dua Lipa’s Levitating X Woh Ladki, singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya has once again caught himself in the limelight. In a recent podcast interview, the singer recounted how he was bullied when he used to lend his voice to superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s songs. 

In a podcast conversation on Subhankar Mishra's YouTube channel, Bhattacharya opened up about his decades-long working relationship with SRK. He revealed that some in the industry would mockingly call the actor ‘hakla’ (stammerer) and question his association with him. “There were a few stars who told me, ‘hakle ke liye gaa raha hai na tu (You are singing for the stammerer)?’ I was like why are they feeling jealous, I got the award for my singing,” he said.

For the unversed, Bhattacharya has crooned several hit songs for SRK.  Tumne Jo Maine Dekha from the movie Main Hoon, Tauba Tumhare Ishare from Chalte Chalte, and Zara Sa Jhoom Loon Mein from the iconic film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge are some memorable tracks. Well, their decade-long collaboration came to an end when Bhattacharya perceived a lack of recognition for his contributions to his film songs. 

After 17 years since their collaboration, Bhattacharya admitted that he had hoped Shah Rukh would extend an olive branch, and mend their relationship. “Being a senior, age-wise, he could come and hug me, I wasn’t expecting an apology, but he could come and say, ‘chal yaar… (come on mate…)’, we’ll play together again. But people chose to (ignore me),” he expressed his desire for reconciliation. Citing the unique chemistry between their voices. "Our voices are meant to be together," he said and compared their relationship to that of a married couple. "Husbands and wives fight, but they ultimately make up. It's not out of obligation but for the greater good. We can create something beautiful together." he said.

Meanwhile, Bhattacharya earlier in the news when he expressed his displeasure over global star Dua Lipa, who performed a mashup of his song with her hit ‘Levitating’ at a concert in Mumbai without giving him credit.