Chali jaisi hawayein is my introduction song in the film. It is a one-shot song, which has not been attempted in Hindi films before.

Since Farah had graduated from choreographer to director, she wanted to try something unique. The song was divided into two parts -- Zayed's part and mine -- and each half was shot in a single take.

We shot the song at St Paul's School, Darjeeling.

When Farah first told me it was a one-shot song, I thought she was joking. I didn't have that kind of stamina because I had to run from one end of the campus to another and catch that beat and timing. Besides, Darjeeling is very cold. And the lack of oxygen made us breathless. We had to practise a lot, but everyone was enthusiastic.

My half of the song was shot over three hours, in five takes. The retakes happened because it was shot on a Steadicam, and the cameraman had arrived on the sets the previous day and was not used to the song's choreography.

The first day of shooting was easy. It was a scene where Zayed was on top of a roof. There was an accident and everyone was upset. I was worked up the most -- I kept urging people to help Zayed.

Email this page to a friend