Shaan opens up about working on Kya Maine Socha (One Love) with the British band Blue. The song was featured in Rakht with Abhishek Bachchan and Bipasha Basu.
A distinct memory for many 90's babies is actor Abhishek Bachchan clad in a brown leather sleeveless jacket, grooving to the tunes of Kya Maine Socha (One Love) with singer Shaan soulfully crooning away in the background. While many may believe the rendition of One Love by British boy band Blue was a recreation, the musician clarifies: “It was collaboration. It is not a recreation or a remix. We just made a Hindi version of the song, around the same time as the original song.”
The song, which would go down in the annals of Hindi music history, came to Shaan by chance. “The band was touring in Asia for their single One Love. Musicians from all over Asia, and I from India, recorded a cover of the song. We all sang the chorus of the song with the band,” shares the 51-year-old. He explains that en route to his studio he realised, “Since I was dubbing the song, I thought why not add a few more lines? I was also working on my own album, Aksar, at that time.”
The lyrics, Shaan explains, are a direct translation of the original song. It would go on to be featured in the 2004 movie Rakht starring Abhishek Bachchan and Bipasha Basu. The singer adds, “After the 9/11 incident in the US, this song was supposed to be about spreading love and creating unity. The song, in the film, had Abhishek and Bipasha dancing in it. It wasn't an item number, it was more a sensitive song about overcoming violence. (laughs) But if something has to work, it will.”
Shaan says that he still sings the song in his concerts: “There is still such a strong reaction to and it definitely one of my most popular songs. Simon Webbe, one of the band members, heard it and said, it sounded great and that I should go ahead and do it (add it to his album Aksar).”
Ask if he envisioned this song becoming the hit it was and the singer elaborates, “The original song was a big release. It was probably Blue's biggest hit number. It was also a major collaboration. And things kind of fell into place with it being featured in the film, too. Also, I never think about whether a song is going to work or no. You just do it and hope for the best.”
