When Sachin Tendulkar was bowled over

The Sachin Anthem song of Sachin- A Billion Dreams, composed by ace music maestro A.R. Rahman, was recorded by singer Sukhwinder Singh in the presence of cricketing sensation Sachin Tendulkar and his wife Anjali at a Mumbai recording studio. The song received more than two million views in less than 24 hours after its launch.

According to Sukhwinder Singh, both Sachin and Anjali were astonished after they heard the song. “They were overwhelmed with the intensity of the song. Sachin later recalled how he cherished my Jai Ho number, which he loved to play on long drives,” revealed Sukhwinder, adding that Sachin was as much an introvert as his guru A.R. Rahman. “The two rarely talk unless they have something important to say,” he said.

Describing the song, Sukhwinder said, “Rahman asked me to render it in my distinctive style and often tells me that the tone and quality of my voice gives the effect of an extempore stage performance. That’s how he wanted this song to shape up. I eventually rendered it with the same passion as I did Chaiya Chaiya, Jai Ho and Chak De India.”

Sukhwinder, who recently performed the song live at the launch event, denied that he resorted to lip-syncing when he lost track of the lyrics. “That’s the last thing I would do as a singer. There are some people who like to indulge in fault-finding. I got hundreds of congratulatory messages for that performance. Even Nita Ambani complimented me,” said the singer.