Big B didn't want to do ‘Kajra Re’ with Aish, Abhishek

One of Bollywood’s most celebrated tracks of the 2000s, ‘Kajra Re’ from 'Bunty Aur Babli', was nearly shelved. The makers were initially sceptical about shooting the hit track, and even Amitabh Bachchan had second thoughts about it. Filmmaker Shaad Ali has now revealed how they eventually decided to shoot the song featuring Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Abhishek Bachchan.Shaad Ali opens up about Amitabh Bachchan's initial doubt

In a conversation with The Indian Express, Shaad Ali opened up about the unexpected roadblocks the track encountered. He shared that the song was once viewed as the weakest link in the film's soundtrack. “I knew when I heard an eight-second riff of it… that this is going to work wonders,” Shaad said. However, he revealed that Yash Raj Films had initially ranked the song as the least likely to succeed.

Even Amitabh Bachchan, who later delivered one of the most memorable performances of his career in the song, was not initially on board.

“Amit ji ne kaha tha ki yeh gaana shoot hi mat karo,” Shaad recalled.The director remained firm in his belief and urged Amitabh to give the track a chance. Still, the legendary actor wasn’t convinced after the first listen. When Shaad called him for the song, Amitabh said it wouldn’t work.

Amitabh Bachchan's felt the song is incompleteThe 'Sholay' actor initially felt the song lacked a proper beginning and suggested it sounded incomplete. Shaad shared that Bachchan contributed to the musical segments at the start but declined to sing them himself, recommending Shankar Mahadevan instead. Over time, however, Bachchan gradually embraced the idea.Big B's reaction after ‘Kajra Re’ became a hitShaad further recalled that Amitabh later made a passing comment during the shoot of another film, possibly Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, saying, “Yeh hota hai item song.”

At that point, Shaad simply took it in stride.

When the song became a massive hit in the industry, Shaad recalled the moment he received an unexpected message from Bachchan: “Tabhi Amit ji ka mujhe message aaya ki, ‘I’m sorry, I second-guessed it’.” But Shaad believes the song wouldn’t have been a hit without Big B and his infectious energy.