What is the story about?
We are a generation that's grown up on the voice of Sonu Nigam. While his tracks from the 1990s remain an integral part of our growing up years, his Sandese
Aate Hain is among those that echoes in our ears through the playlists even to this day. So when Sonu's voice returned in the revamped version of the iconic track in the upcoming Border 2, fans got nostalgic. The singer, who's had great months with more hit tracks in films like Dhurandhar, Param Sundari and Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, opened up about recording Sandese Aate Hain again, after almost 30 years. The track is presented under the title Ghar Kab Aaoge in Border 2, and has singers Arijit Singh and Diljit Dosanjh joining in.
Sonu Nigam on singing Sandese Aate Hain again
Sandese Aate Hain was composed by Anu Malik, written by Javed Akhtar, and had Roop Kumar Rathod joining Sonu Nigam as a playback singer. Sonu looked back at the original which he reveals he firat sang at the age of 21. The iconic singer exclusively shared with Zoom, "It was obviously a huge challenge to sing a song again that is embedded in the lives of people. I sang it when I was 21 years old in 1995, and then the movie came out in 1997."
Challenging part in recreating the song
We asked Sonu whether it was challenging to go back to a track that remains a benchmark, and recreating his own version with a brand new packaging. Sonu replied, "I know I have tried to maintain my voice, but you still are a little doubtful of your ability to deliver a song that you did in your absolute youth. I sang the song for the first time at Mithun Studio. And now, 30 years later, when I had to revisit it, I realised I need to unlearn the song because I've been singing it a certain way for the last 28 years. When I redid it, I had to come out like a fresher, giving it a fresh approach."
Redoing it after 30 years with new elements
The singing icon further elaborated on the new version and its new elements. "The lyrics were differently written. They had different emotions. Like in the previous version, I had to belt out the line 'aye guzarne wali hawa.' This time I had to be a little more emotional. The context of the words was such that I had to convey the emotions through my voice," he stated.
About Border 2
Border 2 is touted to be a spiritual sequel to JP Dutta's 1997 war epic film Border. The 2026 offering has been helmed by Anurag Singh. The movie focuses on the 1971 Indo-Pak war, highlighting the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force. Border 2 brings a new generation of soldiers led by Sunny Deol, and also starring Varun Dhawan, Diljit Dosanjh, Ahan Shetty, and others.
Even as the original version remains special for the listeners, the new one is also receiving a lot of love. Sonu is grateful. "I'm very happy with the response. God has been really kind. People are calling me up and appreciating. This song has been giving me so much love all these years, and I'm very happy it is doing it again."
Border 2 releases on January 23.
