Bombay-based vocalist Madhubanti Bagchi is soaking in the praise coming her way for the song Aaj ki raat from the upcoming film Stree 2. “The song is a marriage of authentic Indian music with modern beats. I had recorded the first draft... and then I think there were a couple of other drafts since there were slight lyrical changes. I also wanted to emote better with the melody. I dubbed it once more in the next few days... and that was it... that was the final recording,” said Madhubanti. A t2 chat.

Congratulations! The video of Aaj ki raat notched up millions of views in a few hours. What kind of messages are you receiving?

It’s incredible... people have really liked the song separately from the video... the video has its own charm but the song itself has garnered a lot of appreciation from people.

What’s been the best compliment till now?

I am getting a lot of compliments... people are saying that Bollywood has finally started producing some good classical music along with modern beats to come up with something cool for Gen Z. That’s a great compliment, given how mixed things have become nowadays.

When did you get the call for the song Aaj ki raat?

I got the call somewhere around the end of last year... they were in the process of just creating the song when I was called. Initially, we don’t get to know which movie the song is for. Sachin sir said that it was pretty much in my zone. He said: ‘We really want the makers of the movie to hear the song in your voice only.’

There’s sensuousness, playfulness, a sense of abandon and a hint of mystery in your singing. How did you approach the song?

From the beats, I knew that it was a dance song. They specified not to make the song sound like an item number. There is a particular style of singing associated with it. Their brief to me was to keep it light and sensuous... to keep it ghazal-ish. Keeping those elements intact they (Sachin-Jigar) wanted to keep the song modern also. They wanted me to keep it soulful and not too seductive.

What kind of things did you keep in mind while singing the song?

It is very important to go by the brief. Also, Amitabhda (Bhattacharya; lyricist) was there when I was recording the song.... he is a very good singer and he told me, ‘These words can be sung in this way’. It was very important to make sure that the Urdu words that I was pronouncing were done in the right way without overenunciating. It is not an aggressively enticing song. It is very subtle in its enticement. I tried to keep that feeling intact.

How was your experience working with Sachin-Jigar?

I have been working with Sachin-Jigar since 2018. It has always been the most encouraging and motivating experience because they always give me something challenging. They always give me something where I need to think about how to approach a particular song.

They don’t give songs where I will go on autopilot and deliver without thinking. I had to keep the heaviness of a ghazal while maintaining the modernity of the song. It was not supposed to be an out-and-out item number. Aaj ki raat is written like a ghazal. It is very classy and sophisticated as a song. If I sing the song with a harmonium, sarangi and tabla it will still sound good. That is the uniqueness of this song. I am really glad they chose me to sing it. It was super challenging for me.

What are your thoughts on the way Tamannaah Bhatia has danced to the song?

Tamannaah looks absolutely gorgeous. She has done an amazing job. She is a great actor and has pulled off the subtlety and the nazakat of the moves really well.

Are you a big Stree fan?

We thoroughly enjoyed Stree when it came out. I believe it kind of gave rise to the success of the horror-comedy genre in Hindi films. I’m sure Stree 2 will be a huge blockbuster.

The title Aaj ki raat also reminds one of the famous Don song. Are you a fan of that song?

The previous Aaj ki raat was an absolutely iconic song. I perform that song in my shows. It is super cool that I now have one Aaj ki raat that I can call my song... so I’ll do both the Aaj ki raats at my shows! Both of them are very close to my heart.