‘I Didn’t Accept The Cheque’: Alisha Chinai Recalls Being Underpaid For Kajra Re

Singer Alisha Chinai, most famously known for her song ‘Made In India’, has given countless chartbusters including the popular song ‘Kajra Re’ from the 2005 film ‘Bunty Aur Babli’. In a recent interview,

the singer recalled being underpaid for the song. She revealed that she was disappointed, upset and so angry over YRF’s unfair payment for the hit song that she refused to accept the cheque. She revealed that she was alrwady big then and had gained popularity with Made In India. She shared that by then, she was already an established, successful name, having risen to fame with Made in India, and expected to be treated with fairness.

Alisha Chinai On Being Underpaid For Kajra Re

In an interview with Zoom, Alisha Chinai called out Yash Raj Films’ unfair payment for Kajra Re, and how she was hurt over singers being undervalued. “They still underpaid me for Kajra Re after my success,” she said. Alisha further added, “Kajra Re made a big ‘hue and cry’ because I was really really angry. I was actually upset and really hurt. I was like ‘Don’t they have any value for a singer?’ I was big then. I had Made In India. I was just sitting at home. I didn’t really want to do playback singing and because Ehsaan (of Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy trio) called me, I said, ‘Of course, I would love to do the song’.”

Alisha Chinai Reveals She Refused To Accept The Cheque

She further hinted that her salary for Kajra Re was only Rs 15,000. She expressed shock at the low amount, especially considering YRF was a major production. “Knowing full well that it was Yash Raj, I was like, okay. When that cheque came, I was like, ‘Hello?’ I didn’t accept the cheque, they kept sending it back. That was it. I was a bit young at the time, and to be honest, not politically correct, I probably just said what I felt and just blurted it out. It didn’t go down very well,” she recalled.

About Kajra Re Song

Kajra Re, composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy was sung by Alisha Chinai, Shankar Mahadevan and Javed Ali. The song from Bunty Aur Babli featured Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, while Aishwarya Rai had a guest appearance in the song. The song gained massive popularity when it released.