Gulzar on recording Sherdil song with KK: 'He came to say his last goodbye'

Gulzar has spoken about working with late singer KK. Their recent collaboration was for Srijit Mukherjee's Sherdill The Pilibhit Saga. Recalling that KK made his Bollywood debut with his song, Gulzar also said that he was happy to reunite with the singer for the new film. KK died recently, following a cardiac arrest just hours after he performed at a concert in Kolkata. (Also read: KK's first song since his death, Dhoop Paani Bahne De, releases)

Gulzar and KK worked together in the singer Bollywood debut, Maachis. KK sang the song Chor Aye Hum Wo Galiyan for the 1996 film directed by Gulzar. Based on the insurgency in Punjab in the 1980s, the film starred Chandrachur Singh, Tabu, Om Puri, and Jimmy Shergill in the lead roles.

Gulzar told Dainik Bhaskar, "Srijit did me a favour by making me a part of his film. Not only did I get to write for such a beautiful film, I also got to meet and work with KK after so many years. KK's first song was for my film Maachis - Chor Aaye Hum Wo Galiyan. My heart was full of joy when he came to sing the song Dhoop Bahne Do for Sherdil The Pilibhit Saga."

He further said, "It is unfortunate that the song will be counted among the last songs of KK. Aisa lagta hai wo aakhri baar alvida kehne hi aaye the (As if he came to say his last goodbye).

Shantanu Moitra, who composed the song, had earlier said in a press statement, "KK was very excited for the song and sang it like his own. He had told me that the song gave him Gulzar after two decades. He was also happy that he'd sing this song in a live concert as he believed the youth needs to listen to the song."

Directed by Srijit Mukherji, Sherdil: The Pilibhit Saga features Pankaj Tripathi, Neeraj Kabi and Sayani Gupta in lead roles. The film is inspired by true events, and focusses on the negative effects of modernisation and man-animal conflict.