Farah Khan Reveals AR Rahman First Made 'Masakali' for Om Shanti Om

Key Highlights:

• A Surprising Revelation: Farah Khan revealed that AR Rahman originally composed the iconic "Masakali" track for her film "Om Shanti Om," not "Delhi 6."
• The Backstory: She recalled approaching Rahman first for the film's music, with a plan to shift to Vishal-Shekhar if things didn't work out.
• Farah's Reflection: She said, "The first song which Rahman made for Om Shanti Om was Masakali! I don't know where I was going to put it but I love that song and love that word."
• Vishal's Perspective: Vishal Dadlani recalled hoping to collaborate with Rahman on the project and reflected on the enduring legacy of "Om Shanti Om's" masala Bollywood soundtrack.
• Masakali's Actual Journey: The track eventually became part of Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's "Delhi-6," featuring Abhishek Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor.

Director and choreographer Farah Khan has revealed that Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman had originally composed the track "Masakali" for her 2007 film Om Shanti Om — not for Delhi-6, the movie the song eventually became associated with.

Farah recently visited the farmhouse of music director Vishal Dadlani for her YouTube vlog. As the two discussed their decades-long professional association, Farah shared that she had approached AR Rahman for Om Shanti Om's music before Vishal-Shekhar finally came on board.

Recalling the timeline, Farah remembered telling Vishal she would first approach Rahman for the film's music, and if that didn't work out, she'd like to shift to Vishal and Shekhar. "The first song which Rahman made for Om Shanti Om was Masakali! I don't know where I was going to put it, but I love that song and love that word," Farah said during the vlog.

Vishal had hoped things would work out with Rahman, suggesting that he and Shekhar could assist on the project instead. He also joked that even without their involvement, Om Shanti Om would still have had great music — to which Farah credited them for making the film's soundtrack "epic."

"The big, masala music that was in 'Om Shanti Om' is the only one. This is the last one! The traditional masala Bollywood musical is this one. Even now I get reels explaining how we made 'Dhoom Tana' without AI at that time when there was no AI... We just did it, and we were having fun," Vishal shared.

Where Masakali actually landed, and how big it got: The song eventually became part of Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Delhi-6 (2009), sung by Mohit Chauhan with lyrics by Prasoon Joshi — released roughly a year and a half after Om Shanti Om itself hit screens in November 2007. Once released as part of the Delhi-6 soundtrack in January 2009, "Masakali" topped Indian music charts for 34 consecutive weeks and was named the most successful song of that year. It went on to sweep the 2nd Mirchi Music Awards in February 2010, where Delhi-6 won eight awards overall, including Song of the Year for "Masakali," Best Music Director for Rahman, Best Male Vocalist for Chauhan, and Best Lyricist for Joshi.

The song's stature was on full display again in 2020, when T-Series released a remix titled "Masakali 2.0" featuring different singers and actors. The remix drew sharp public criticism, with Rahman, Mehra and Joshi all publicly expressing disappointment — Rahman noting that the original had been "properly commissioned" with genuine creative effort, a reaction that underlined just how protectively fans and its own creators still regarded the track over a decade after its release.