Arijit Singh wanted to cover 'Sayonee' for years: Salman Ahmad

Pakistani Twitter had a field day when a clip of a certain song made rounds on social media. Junoon’s Sayonee grabbed eyeballs for all the wrong reasons. While one would hope for Ali Azmat’s raw vocals to soothe ears, what everyone came face to face with was a rather lazy version of it, sung by ace Bollywood playback singer Arijit Singh.

While Pakistanis (and some Indians, too) couldn’t help but slam the recent version of the 1998 hit, the original composer of the song Salman Ahmad thought differently. Taking to social media, he shared how Sayonee is one of the most covered songs globally, making this new version an achievement. The musician then shared some other renditions of the track on Twitter.

Keeping the same stance in a recent appearance on Mubasher Lucman’s web show, Ahmad stated proud he is of the song that transcends borders. “I composed Sayonee in 1998. It's been 22 years and it has been such a hit since. The song itself has been revamped thousands of times,” he said. “This isn't the first time anyone has asked me to give them permission to make
their own version of the song. India's Arijit Singh has been asking me for the last five years to let him sing Sayonee and grant him the license for it.”

Ahmad then remarked how Singh would often sing Sayonee at his concerts. “He would always perform our songs live at his concerts. This is a norm among us artists – one with good faith – that we sing each other’s tracks. It’s a compliment. He told me that Bollywood wants to make a derivative of Sayonee,” the musician shared. “I told him that I wouldn’t have a problem as long as these two conditions are fulfilled: One, that there shouldn’t be any sentiments hurt. Second, it should be a message of love. He agreed graciously. This is a couple of years back.”

But then, Ahmad heard nothing from the Tum Hi Ho crooner, until now. “All of a sudden, last week, he messaged me saying that the trailer is releasing next week! Now, the situation these days is very different as compared to the last five years. But then I thought, let it come!"

Lucman interjected here, saying, “But I felt, the song was weak.” Ahmad, to this, retorted, “See, it’s very simple. The Beatles are one band that has been covered the most in terms of renditions. Some might be good, others not so much. But the thing that really matters is the revival of the band itself.”

The renowned anchor then revealed that he himself had sought a license for Sayonee and Salman gave it. “We were in talks of making the song but then I imagined Ali’s face. He’s like a younger brother to me, so I know he won’t object to it. But he would take a plunge from his house’s rooftop!” Lucman joked. “Ali’s energy in the song is unparalleled!”

Ahmad composed the Coke Studio version of Sayonee in 2018 as well. The Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Ali Noor’s rendition was also heavily criticised though.

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