From Sukhwinder Chaiyya Chaiyya Singh’s Dil Se

chandigarh: visits from guys like this could certainly do our egos tonnes of good. for, hear what chaiyya chaiyya singer sukhwinder singh has to say about chandigarh: i used to come here a lot, especially for dating! but now i've come after dil se (four years). it's a complete city; you get everything here, and a little beyond, there are the hills.singh was in the city to perform at a private function on the request of sanjay dutt (for whom he sang in kurukshetra, daag - the fire, khoobsurat, pitaah), and with whom he was having lunch at hotel mountview's magic wok before we sat down for a chat. prior to that though, singh worked out at the gym (no wonder he's much slimmer) and attired in fitting denims (i used to wear loose suits to hide my fat). he's also minus the moustache. amritsar born, singh always envisioned a career in music but wanted to be a composer. however, he stepped into the industry as a lyricist when a chance meeting with govind nihalani in new york landed him the job of writing songs for thakshak (since, he's written for astitva, kurukshetra, daag - the fire). further introductions led him to ar rahman and mani rathnam and chaiyya chaiyya was conceived. i explained baba bulle shah's philosophy to rahman and mani, picked up the line from his work and then completed the song. but the final version was penned by gulzar sahib. interestingly, rahman was scouting for fresh talent to sing this song when someone suggested singh's name. rahman then rang up singh in ny, chided him for not mentioning he could sing and called him to chennai. rahman was so happy with the recording that he took me to an area in his house (called dargah) where very few people are allowed, and told me to sleep there, saying he felt he had achieved what he had set out to do with this song. currently working on his second pop album, singh is also tying the knot soon to a mumbai girl. yeh barbadi bhi hone wali hai, he jokes. though his latest sizzler kambakht ishq has clearly put him in a league of his own. outside the recording studio i care a damn for the name sukhwinder singh, says the singer as he gets up to visit pinjore gardens and sector 17, his favourite place! geetika_bhandari@indiatimes.com