Shah Rukh Khan rejected ‘Lungi Dance’, state ‘Beta maja nahi aaya’: Honey Singh recalls how he ‘angrily’ decided to shoot it alone

Honey Singh has gifted Punjabi music lovers with some of their all-time favorite tracks and even Bollywood couldn’t stop themselves from featuring his music in films. In a recent conversation, the singer revealed how Shah Rukh Khan initially rejected his song “Lungi Dance”, which eventually featured in the film Chennai Express and became one of his favorite tracks of all time. Went.She also shared an anecdote about a significant loss she suffered after abandoning a music video she shot with 400 bikini-clad girls in Thailand.
While talking to Lallantop, Honey Singh recalled shooting the music video of “Angrezi Beat” in Thailand with Gippy Grewal. He said, “Gippy Paaji and I shot an elaborate video of ‘English Beat’ in Thailand, which featured around 400 girls in bikinis. So we shot the video with 400 girls in a villa and it was a glamorous video. By the time the video was completed, my effigies were being burnt in Punjab.”
Discussing the protests against him in Punjab for allegedly using obscene songs and how Gippy convinced him to remove the video, Honey Singh said, “Gippy told me, ‘You would have lived in Delhi. Are. You don’t mind if they burn your effigies, but I live in Punjab. They will come to my house. Let’s not release this video.
I argued that we had spent so much money on the video and urged them not to worry about Punjab, believing that they would eventually accept us. Instead, I asked them to consider reaching audiences in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Varanasi and beyond. But Gippy insisted that he would not talk to me if I released the video. So, we decided to leave it. We had spent all our money on the Thailand shoot and had no money left, so we shot a different video—which eventually reached an audience.
Addressing the perception in Bollywood of him being labeled arrogant and refusing to be conservative, Honey Singh commented, “An arrogant image of me was created, and to some extent, it was true. And why not? ‘Angrezi Beat’ was my first song to be released in Bollywood, in the film Cocktail. The producers told me that they wanted a song like ‘English Beat’, but I told them that it was not possible and suggested another track ‘Party All Night’. However, he insisted on the ‘English beat’ and eventually took it. Another guy took ‘Party All Night’, paid me and also shot videos with me.
The singer also revealed that even Shah Rukh Khan initially did not see the potential of his song “Lungi Dance” and rejected it. “When ‘Angrezi Beat’ and ‘Party All Night’ became hits, the next person came to me and said they wanted a song like those tracks. I suggested ‘Lungi Dance’, but it was rejected.
When asked who rejected the song, Honey Singh said, “Shahrukh bhai rejected it. He said, ‘Son, maja nahi aaya (I didn’t like the song).’ I was very upset. I asked Bhushan Kumar if he saw potential in the song, and he told me it was a superhit. We had planned to release it as a single, but when Rohit Shetty found out, he decided to take it up. However, he insisted on the ‘English beat’ and eventually took it. Another guy took ‘Party All Night’, paid me and also shot videos with me.