Actor Shahid Kapoor, who launched Shaandaar’s new song, Neend Na Mujhko Aaye (I can’t fall asleep) — a remixed version of the 1950s song — says he used to find solace in the company of his friends when he suffered sleepless nights.
The iconic song originally featured in the 1958 film Post Box 999. The new version for Shaandaar has a quirky angle.
The song was launched on Thursday night with Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and director Vikas Bahl at a coffee shop in Mumbai.
“Insomnia is something people are yet to identify in common people. It’s a big problem today, especially in big cities. Being an insomniac, I used to hang out late at night with my other friends who also face the same problem,” Kapoor said.
Meanwhile, director Bahl said the idea for Shaandaar had an interesting origin.
“We thought, let’s make a fun movie about weddings, song and dance. And then we thought the movie should have a story. So one night I was thinking and going through my phone. And that’s where I realised that most of the people are awake at night and keep posting [on social media] about being awake.
“So I said to myself that if people are awake the whole night, it is the perfect time to have an affair. Any two people who are awake late at night could chat with each other and then the story follows from there,” Bahl said.
Talking about the song and the film, Kapoor said: “Making insomnia as an angle of the film is the nicest way to make people know about this. So while making a song, we thought this old classic went so well with the theme. It’s a cool idea to use the song.
“The song tells the tale of two individuals who connect because they are both insomniacs and eventually they fall in love.”
The original track was sung by Hemant Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar. It is recreated by composer Amit Trivedi.
