The eponymous title track of Sushant Singh Rajput's Dil Bechara released on Friday, leaving his admirers with a bundle of mixed emotions as they saw the late actor perform his final solo dance routine with panache.
Dil Bechara , directed by Rajput's good friend Mukesh Chabbra, is the last movie the actor shot for before his death on June 14 at the age of 34.
Music-maestro AR Rahman has composed the album of the film, penned by lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya. Farah Khan has choreographed the song, beautifully capturing Rajput's love for dance and camera.
Chabbra shared the story behind the making of the song on his Instagram page.
He said Khan came on board the project without charging a single penny for choreographing the song because she wanted to work with him and Rajput.
And just like that, Bollywood's best choreographer made #DilBechara's title track happen and how. Presenting the magic of Sushant and the magic of the maestro A R Rahman to you Chabbra captioned the video.
The casting director-filmmaker said the music album of his directorial debut is an emotional rollercoaster of romance and friendship that takes the narrative of the film forward.
"Having A R Rahman aboard for the music of my directorial debut is a dream come true. What's amazing about the genius of Rahman in this album is that it beautifies the narrative and takes it forward," he added.
The song, crooned by Rahman, was performed by Rajput in one shot. Khan said it was a delight to choreograph for someone who was so passionate about dancing.
I remembred Sushant had once come to a reality dance show that I was judging as a celebrity guest and that's the only time the celebrity guest danced better than the contestants on that show We rehearsed a whole day and then finished shoot in half a day, she wrote on Instagram.
Khan revealed that as a prize for performing the dance routine in one shot, Rajput wanted her to treat him with home-cooked food.
As a reward for nailing it perfectly all Sushant wanted was food from my house which I duly got for him I see the song and all I can see is how alive, how happy he looks in it Yes this song is very special to me," she said.
Oscar-winner Rahman said the album of the film is carefully curated and Rajput's memories makes it even more special.
"Composing music doesn't have any formula, it is a thing of the heart. When I write songs, I let them breathe for some time and then present it to the director. This whole album is carefully curated because the film has so much heart, and now, memories of Sushant," the composer said.
The video of the song features Rajput donning Indiana Pacers' No 31 jersey, which belongs to basketball legend Reggie Miller. The camera follows the actor as he performs in a dream-like setting swaying across the auditorium trying to woo debutante Sanjana Sanghi's character.
"Dil Bechara", is an official remake of 2014 Hollywood romantic drama "The Fault in our Stars", which was based on John Green's popular novel of the same name.
It chronicles the story of a college girl, Kizie (Sanghi), who suffers from cancer and meets Manny (Rajput), a survivor of Osteosarcoma.
Soon after the release of the song, #DilBecharaTitleTrack started trending on Twitter with many remembering the actor for his dedication to the craft.
Sushant did this whole performance in one take. Same level of energy throughout THIS IS EXCELLENT, a fan posted on Twitter.
Another user wrote, Sushant put heart & soul into the dance He was an underrated dancer, just brilliant here with step and expression.
Seeing him dancing for the very last time on #DilBecharaTitleTrack What a fabulous dancer #SushantSingRajput was, one of Rajput's admirers said.
Dil Bechara is penned by Shashank Khaitan and Suprotim Sengupta. Produced by Fox Star Studios, "Dil Bechara" will start streaming on Disney + Hotstar from July 24.