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‘Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar’ is taking over audiences worldwide after releasing on Netflix, and the song ‘Sakal Ban’ has been making waves on Youtube and social media. Singer Raja Hasan spoke with us about how he was approached by the composer and Sanjay Leela Bhansali to sing ‘Sakal Ban’.
The song is adapted from a 700 year old poem and song composed by the Indo-Persian poet Amir Khusro, written about the Basant Panchami festival describing when mustard flowers bloom. Bhansali incorporated this song into the first episode of the series, depicting the beginning of the spring season for the women of Heeramandi.
Hasan explained how he took inspiration from the original version of ‘Sakal Ban’ and the bandish that it was composed in to create the chorus for the song in ‘Heeramandi’.
“People have said that they wanted the song to be longer, but when I found out that the bandish was over 700 years old, how can I ask for a second stanza? For me, I was happy that the work I did was compact and power-packed.”
Hasan is classically trained in Hindustani music, so he was able to pick up the nuances of the song. He explained that when he recorded the song in the studio, the jugalbandi section included in the final cut wasn’t prepared yet, so he had sung without it.
When the song was being created, Hasan was approached by the composer, and Hasan decided to try it.
“I’m thankful to SLB that he kept my voice for this song, and that’s how it all came together.”
Learning about the behind the scenes process from Hasan gives perspective into how the recording process worked for ‘Sakal Ban’. He explained that the process was quite natural, and it was all up to the coordinator and audio programmers for the series.
“My work was to sing the song, and I can sing even without any beats or support, so my work was to sing what I could. The work of creating the flow of the song is all up to the arranger.”
‘Sakal Ban’ now has more than fifteen million views on Youtube, and we’re obsessed with Hasan’s voice in the song.
