3 minutes of readingNew DelhiJanuary 29, 2026 11:32 am IST
Musician and singer Arijit Singh recently announced his decision to retire from playback singing, leaving the entire nation heartbroken. While several celebrities like Shreya Ghoshal, Shilpa Rao and others praised it, others were overly saddened by the sudden development. In a recent interview, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt reacted to the news. He also recalled the first time he met the singer of Aashiqui 2’s iconic song Tum Hi Ho.
During a conversation with The Telegraph Online, he spoke about his decision for Arijit, hinting that certain artists choose the path of solace instead of noise. “At the height of their powers, some artists turn away, not from art but from noise. They prefer silence, solitude and truth to constant performance,” he said.
The filmmaker also remembers his first meeting with Arijit Singh during the shooting of Mohit Suri’s Aashiqui 2, in which Mahesh was the producer. “When I heard about Arijit’s decision to stop singing for others, I was unexpectedly reminded of an afternoon at Super Sound Service in Khar, the old T Series building, where Aashiqui2’s journey really began,” he shared.
He further added, “We were releasing the music and Arijit was called to sing Tum Hi Ho. A shy and modest young man walked up to the stage and sang a song that would silently captivate the world. That moment became a stepping stone to a life that would never be the same.”
Arijit Singh announces his retirement from playback singing
On Tuesday, Arijit Singh surprised fans with his social media postannouncing that he would no longer undertake new projects as a playback vocalist. “Hello, happy new year to everyone. I want to thank you all for giving me so much love all these years as listeners. I am pleased to announce that from now on I will not be accepting any new assignments as a playback vocalist. “I’m canceling it. It was a wonderful trip,” he wrote in the post.
Over the past few decades, Arijit has become a household name in the world of music, especially with his iconic songs – Tum Hi Ho, Channa Mereya, Agar Tum Saath Ho, Raabta, Kesariya, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Tera Yaar Hoon Main and Tujhe Kitna Chahne Lage. The singer’s last feature film would be Hum To Tere Hi Liye The from Vishal Bhardwaj’s upcoming film O Romeo, starring Shahid Kapoor.