Singer Mujtaba Aziz Naza reveals he recorded and shot the track Dongri Ke Sultan for Dhurandhar 2; is clueless why it was edited out. He reveals that the song was shot on a grand scale in South Mumbai
(L-R) Mujtaba Aziz Naza with Aditya Dhar. Pic/By Special Arrangement
An almost four-hour runtime has enabled filmmaker Aditya Dhar to tell an expansive story in Dhurandhar: The Revenge. But it looks like the Ranveer Singh-starrer has arrived in theatres with a trim. Dongri Ke Sultan, a song that was recorded by singer Mujtaba Aziz Naza and shot on a grand scale in South Mumbai last year, has gone missing from the action drama’s final cut.
When mid-day reached out to Naza, he shared that the song was conceived of as part of a celebratory sequence where Singh’s character Hamza returns to his den after winning the local elections. “We had shot three songs — Dongri Ke Sultan, and [the cover of] Jumma Chumma De De, and Apni Toh Jaise Taise. The set-up was elaborate — Ranveer and Rakesh Bedi were shown in a car, while there was a band on a truck performing. We shot the song over a day,” recalled the singer.
Ranveer Singh in ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’. Pic/Youtube
The sequence itself was mounted on a lavish scale. “That scene was actually when Ranveer was coming back from winning the election. There was a lot of fun and a lot of audience. There were at least 10 cars. We shot this in South Mumbai one day last Ramadan (2025),” he recalls.
He added, “My whole group was there. My brother Munir was there. It was an amazing set-up. We had a band on a truck, drummers in front of us, and a car ahead with Ranveer and Rakesh Bedi. It was an amazing shoot.”
The shoot, which lasted an entire day, was captured extensively. “We shot it the whole day. We recorded it live. He set up cameras on the buildings as well, and on the ground floor too. A couple of people were shooting from the buildings, and Aditya repeatedly requested the residents to not shoot from their mobile phones. He had a very big team.”
Naza is full of praise for director Aditya Dhar’s involvement in shaping the performance. “Aditya Dhar was very happy. He suggested the songs. First we recorded Dongri Ki Sultan, and then he suggested the other songs. He said, ‘Ustad ji, you sang this song a little more swingy. You don’t have to worry about the way you sing.’ He asked me to play my instrument, my bongo, a little more swingy. He shot all the scenes.”
Despite the scale and effort, the sequence and the three songs didn’t make it to the film. Was there a rights issue since T-Series acquired the audio rights of Dhurandhar: The Revenge? In contrast, Dhurandhar’s (2025) music rights rested with Saregama, which allowed it access to a wide archival library. Naaz shared, “I don’t know why we had to remove them. The [makers] have edited the whole thing out. Fan clubs reached out to me, asking about the song.”
However, Naza retains the rights to the song and is now planning to release it independently. “My song was in it but could not come. So I decided that I will make an official video of it. Because it had only audio and not video. We are working on its video as well, and we are making a very exclusive video. Very soon we are going to launch the official video of Dongri Ke Sultan.”
For the singer, the experience of working on Dhurandhar 2 still holds immense value. “It is a big thing for me to go with a big movie and big artists. For me, it is an experience. And with Ranveer Singh, he has been very lucky for me because I have already had two films with him - Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat. I have already got a lot of love from people. Working with Aditya Dhar was a very happy memory for me. I would like to thank him for the movie.”
2024
When Mujtaba Aziz Naza released the single, ‘Dongri Ke Sultan’
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