20 Years of Bunty Aur Babli EXCLUSIVE: Shaad Ali shares FASCINATING trivia about ‘Kajra Re’: “Amitabh Bachchan said ‘Mujhe lagta nahin ki yeh hit gaana hoga’; song’s beginning was too long; it later became My Name Is Khan’s ‘Tere Naina'”

By Fenil Seta -

May 27, 2025 - 2:00 PM IST

The con comedy Bunty Aur Babli (2005) was released 20 years ago, on May 27. The film is unforgettable for many reasons and one of them is ‘Kajra Re’, the dance number featuring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan shaking a leg with Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan. The song is often considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, item numbers of all time. On the 20th anniversary of the film, its director Shaad Ali shared fascinating trivia about the track.

20 Years of Bunty Aur Babli EXCLUSIVE: Shaad Ali shares FASCINATING trivia about ‘Kajra Re’: “Amitabh Bachchan said ‘Mujhe lagta nahin ki yeh hit gaana hoga’; song’s beginning was too long; it later became My Name Is Khan’s ‘Tere Naina'”

Those were the days when social media was absent and the makers didn’t feel the need to give out everything in advance. As a result, the initial audience had no idea that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was also in the film.

On this, Shaad Ali said, “We had deliberately held the song promo back. We released it in the second week as we wanted the audience to be surprised when she appeared on screen. Also, we were confident that the film would open well, due to the casting of Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukerji and Amitabh Bachchan, and the music.”

When asked how was it to shoot with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Shaad Ali replied, “She’s mind-blowing. She is one of the best professional actors I have ever worked with in my life. She worked on ‘Kajra Re’ for only 5-6 days. But I assisted in Guru (2007) and Raavan (2010) which featured Ash (in a leading role). She was never late and never brought issues outside of the work to the set. Whatever it was, I would never come to know. She’s always prepared. Even if she has to host an event, she’ll be thoroughly ready, like a studious kid in school. There’s zero hassle in working with her.”

Shaad Ali, at this point, revealed, “Amit ji was never sure of the song. I had called him to the studio as I wanted him to sing the song. All the main actors had visited the studio. Rani abused me the most, saying ‘Main iss gaane mein nahin hoon’! I reasoned, ‘Babli is pregnant. How can I make her dance?’! Amit ji was not sure about sing the song. He said, ‘Mujhe lagta nahin ki yeh hit gaana hoga’. But he had an observation – the song’s beginning is sudden; aisa lag raha tha ki gaana beech mein se shuru ho raha hai. The entire ‘dhin tanak dhin’ bit was added, thanks to his suggestion. Also, the beginning was very long. That part was removed and it became a separate song, ‘Tere Naina’, in My Name Is Khan (2010). Even that was a hit song!”

The IMDb trivia mentions that Sushmita Sen was also considered for ‘Kajra Re’. Shaad Ali clarified, “No. Aishwarya was the first and last choice. If Ash had refused, I might have scrapped the song!”

Also Read: Shaad Ali on 20 years of Bunty Aur Babli, “Casting the Bachchans NOT as father and son was the toughest and easiest part”