4 minutes of readingNew DelhiFebruary 3, 2026 1:16 PM IST
The song “Mere Dholna 3.0” from Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 has been one of the standout tracks of the film, starring Kartik Aaryan, Vidya Balan and Tripti Dimri. But behind his success, the composer Amaal Mallik faced a difficult task to get legendary singer Sonu Nigam to lend his voice to the song.
In a conversation with Pinkvilla, Amaal revealed that some industry experts were initially doubtful whether Sonu was the right choice. “They didn’t want someone as wonderful as Sonu Nigam to sing ‘Mere Dholna 3.0’; They weren’t sure we should go with someone like Sonu Nigam. And now he is everywhere. One song changes everything. Even he has to go through this! For someone as legendary, as talented as him, you put him in the witness box, take his test! ‘So where do we meet?'” he said.
love remember the pressure coming from multiple corners during the selection process. “Bhushan Kumar Sir was convinced. ANR was convinced. The director was convinced. From the marketing team comes someone; from the acting team, comes the manager who then suggests ‘Why shouldn’t we go with Arijit Singh? Shouldn’t we go with Vishal Mishra?’ And I understand that my choices were these three, since I wanted a slightly more daring voice. “I thought there is only one person who is the epitome of classical music in this country, that is Mr. Sonu, and I knew I could achieve it,” he explained.
Sonu Nigam sang ‘Mere Dholna 3.0’ in 45 minutes
Despite skepticism, Sonu delivered the song in record time. “He completed the song in 45 minutes. It’s the hardest song in the world I’ve ever recomposed. Pritam’s original one I turned into a new verse. That sargam at the end, ask any classical musician, you’ll think it must have taken 5 hours to complete. We had booked the studio from 7pm to 12pm. He came straight from a show in the US at 10 and finished it at 10:45, around 11. And then everyone said, ‘Wow, what a song!’”
Amaal also highlighted the creative struggles that composers face. “During the process of bringing his voice for the song, they were ready to take me out of the film saying that they don’t listen to us! So when I choose my singer, there are times when the composer is replaced. Everyone thinks that they have to decide which singer suits a song, although it is the composer’s job,” he said.
Amaal was removed from 45 songs
Amaal also spoke about the professional risks of standing up for his position and spoke about the long-standing problems within the Hindi film music industry.
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“There was a time when I was working with someone on a movie and at night we were fighting a court case. I didn’t name anyone, but that’s how it works.” In the last five years, Amaal revealed that he had been dropped from 40 to 45 films.
Disparity in compensation
Amaal also pointed out the disparity in compensation. for Indian composers and singers, citing the example of “Sooraj Dooba Hai” from the film Roy. Despite being produced at a modest level budget Of Rs 8-9 lakh, the song earned music labels around Rs 60-70 crore, while Amaal received nothing more than minimal publishing rights.
“I got 60-70 million rupees for the label, and I didn’t get anything except the publishing rights, which are negligible, not even close to 1 million rupees,” he revealed in the interview.