Virat Kohli to rap for AR Rahman

‘Naam hai Futsal!’ — that’s what Virat Kohli will be crooning soon, as the cricketer prepares for his toughest challenge — singing to none other than A.R. Rahman’s music for the Premier Futsal League! India’s cover boy for sports was in a fun mood today, as he walked into the press meet for the event (that started fashionably late after an hour and half) in Chennai, dressed casually in a sweatshirt and tan trousers — proceeding to drape a Futsal scarf over ARR, who was looking dapper in an informal suit.

Kohli was immediately gushing over the iconic composer — “Sitting next to Rahman sir right now... it’s like all my childhood memories, growing up listening to his songs, are coming back to me! He’s been such a massive inspiration to my life and career. Apart from the national anthem that’s sung before every match, the only other song that resonates with the players is his version of Vande Mataram which is played during the end. Man, it gives me goosebumps every time! The whole stadium is roused, and we are infused with a new sense of energy. So you can imagine my excitement being here.”

He adds, “Just meeting him for a few minutes now has taught me about his success: the higher you go, the more humble you have to be... that’s my takeaway from this meeting.”

India’s Test captain also revealed that he was an ‘average’ singer, and also that his favourite vocalist was Arijit Singh! “Since I’m going to be singing only rap bits and nothing too complex, there shouldn’t be too many issues, I hope. But I still prefer the bat to the microphone!” Kohli grinned.

AA has also learned exclusively that Kohli was in Chennai only for a day of recording and shooting —which was done in his hotel and studio — and the rest of the portions will be canned in Mumbai.

A.R. Rahman, on his part, was all smiles as well, as he spoke to us — “Hopefully, I’ll make it easy for Virat! Apart from him, other known faces like Karthik and Lady Kash are also part of the music video. I’ve been associated with a lot of sport-based films and initiatives in the recent past, and this project is further evidence that composing needn’t be restricted to only movies. The lyrics for this song are in English, and we’ve been working on it for a week now. I’m not sure how it’ll turn out yet. The track isn’t all rap though, it’ll have a mixture of other elements as well.”