In a recent interview, Indi-pop singer Baba Sehgal shared his thoughts on the Hindi lyrics of the song "Rukmani Rukmani" from the movie Roja (1992), calling them "cheap". He also revealed that initially, A.R. Rahman and director Mani Ratnam were not in favor of him singing the song.
Sehgal recounted his first encounter with the Roja team, mentioning that he was approached after a show in Chennai. An assistant director played him the Tamil version of a song from the movie. Later, they met at his hotel, where they asked for his help in releasing the music. Sehgal then connected them with a music company that was just starting to venture into film music. The company agreed to the collaboration on the condition that Baba Sehgal would sing at least one song, which became "Rukmani Rukmani".
According to Sehgal, Rahman and Ratnam had wanted classical singers for the song. Despite not being convinced by the lyrics, he went ahead and recorded it. He said, "I sang the song. I got to know later that they (Rahman and Ratnam) didn't want me to sing the song. They wanted some more classical singers. It was a force thing. I was not at all convinced with the lyrics. They were very cheap, I feel."
Sehgal expressed his dislike for the Hindi lyrics, stating, "When I saw the Hindi lyrics, I was like, 'Kitne vahiyat lyrics hai yaar. Kisne likha hai ye? (Lyrics are so cheap. Who wrote these lines)?' The problem is when we listen to such songs in other languages, we will feel them good. But when we hear it in our own languages, we understand its actual meaning."
Despite his reservations, the song became a hit, implying that Baba Sehgal's contribution was significant. He believes his voice contributed significantly to the song's success. He also noted that this was his first and last collaboration with AR Rahman. He recalled that AR Rahman was just a "bachcha" (kid) then.
The lyrics of the song "Rukmani Rukmani" are as follows: "Rukmani rukmani shaadi ke baad kya kya hua / Kaun haara kaun jeeta khidki mein se dekho zara ho ho o ho ho o ho ho o / Baahon mein hai baahein daale meethi baatein hone lagi / Khatiya bhi dheere dheere khat khat hone lagi / Aage peechhe hua to jhatpat hone lagi ho ho o ho ho o ho ho o."
