Kavita Krishnamurthy recalls memorable recording of ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’: 'God was smiling at me that day’

Kavita Krishnamurthy, a highly respected playback singer in India, recently looked back on key highlights of her illustrious career. She openly shared insights about working with filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and composer Ismail Darbar on iconic films like ‘Khamoshi’, ‘Devdas’ and ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’. She especially reminisced about recording the title track of ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’, a song that has become a timeless classic in Hindi cinema.Working with composer Ismail DarbarOpening up about her working dynamic with composer Ismail Darbar during an interview with News18, she described him as absolutely fantastic, very creative, and deeply emotional. She noted that he has a very clear vision of what he wants the singer to do in a song, which made it very difficult to please him in the recording studio.Nervousness due to health challengesLooking back on the day she was set to record the title track, Krishnamurthy revealed her nervousness, explaining that her frequent health problems often affected her voice. She remembered how nervous she was when singing ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’, the title track, explaining that she suffers from a lot of cold issues and sinus problems. Sometimes when she goes to sing, she hopes and prays to God not to give her too many hums and tums because her nose will not work.A surprising recording experienceShe shared a light-hearted personal anecdote about how she told her aunt that she wasn’t sure how long it would take because the song was difficult with too many hums in ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’. She recalled that on that day, it felt like “Raag Rasoi bagdi waali baat hogayi thi” and that God was definitely smiling at her. She felt that, he said, “No No, you are going to do it very quickly today.” As a result, she managed to sing the song in one third of the expected time, which was surprising because she thought it would take hours but finished quickly. For her, the ability to let go of a song after recording is a blessing. She explained that the ability to forget a song after recording is a good skill because when she goes to the next studio to sing for someone else, it’s easier to listen to the new song with fresh ears if she has forgotten what she has sung before.The haunting beauty of ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ proved to be an exception for her. She said that after singing that song, she could not have sung it again in a day because the composition really haunted her. She described it as a beautiful composition, praising the lyrics, arrangement, and orchestration. She also highlighted the use of a western voice, like operatic singing at the beginning, and the beautiful way the violin and string section come in.