Shilpa Rao: After Besharam rang, I knew I had to up my game

Shilpa Rao

Music is at the centre of director Mohit Suri's Saiyaara, which follows the love story of an upcoming singer and a songwriter. When creating the soundtrack, the composers and the director were certain that they wanted Shilpa Rao to voice Barbaad. Now, with the song of the Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda-starrer
having recently released, the singer says she has been flooded with messages.

"Music, for me, has always been about connecting with people's emotions. Singing the female version of Barbaad allowed me to explore a different emotional perspective. I've been receiving so many messages from people saying they're moved by the song, feeling heartbreak through it, even when they haven't gone through one themselves," says Rao.

(L-R) Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda in Barbaad from Saiyaara; (right) A still from Besharam rang

For the singer, working on Barbaad felt "like home" as she previously worked with the banner, YRF, on the chartbuster Besharam rang from Shah Rukh Khan's Pathaan (2023). "Mohit pushes me to go deeper. He knows how to bring out that raw, aching side of my voice. With YRF, there is an unspoken standard. After Besharam rang, I knew I had to up my game. Barbaad is more stripped down, and that makes it powerful."