Jagjit Singh Death Anniversary 2023: When Shefali Shah crooned his nazm for her film Once Again

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Jagjit Singh, the Ghazal maestro, has left a deep impact on the Indian music industry. He lives through his music. The king of Ghazal was honoured with the Padma Bhushan by the government of India in 2003 and in February 2014.

While music learners and enthusiasts often listen and sing his Ghazals, did you know actress Shefali Shah crooned one of his nazms for her film, Once Again? Shefali is a trained singer and she decided to serenade fans in the romance drama, Once Again.

Having rendered a track originally sung by ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh, Shah said to mid-day the development followed a chance discussion she had with director Kanwal Sethi. "During a script-reading session, we were discussing the romantic relationship of the protagonists [Neeraj Kabi and hers]. It reminded me of the nazm [by Kafeel Aazar Amrohvi]. Our director casually asked me to sing it. I did, and he found the voice apt. He requested me to sing in the film."

Shefali was quick to assert that she wasn't trying to flaunt her singing prowess with this act. The scenario in the film, she said, facilitated her involvement as a singer. "It [singing] is just what my character does. Like a lot of women, she hums in the kitchen," she said, alluding to the fact that technical brilliance behind the mic isn't something that could be demanded from such a character, and hence, not from her either.

While she trained in singing for several years, her practice took a back seat after other professional commitments took priority. "I gave up on it then, but I do sing when I am alone, or [in company of] close friends."

Once Again put the spotlight on the love story of a middle-aged couple. Shah's character, a businesswoman who supplies tiffins, falls for an artiste, played by Kabi, who is her client. A relationship develops over food and notes that are exchanged with the tiffins. But, when word about it gets out, she is subjected to ridicule.

Jagjit Singh passed away after suffering a brain haemorrhage on 23 September 2011. He was in a coma for over two weeks and died on 10 October at Lilavati Hospital, in Mumbai.