‘Awarapan 2’, headlined by Emraan Hashmi, is set to hit theaters on August 14, 2026. With the release approaching, music composer Amaal Mallik shared insights on working with Arijit Singh, even as the singer has stepped back from doing playback singing.

Arijit Singh made the decision himself, says Amaal Mallik

Talking to Pinkvilla, Amaal Mallik said, “I think there is no force by any chance. He has taken a decision, aur yeh decision jab ussne duniya se bola, usse 1-2 saal pehle hum sab jo kaam kar chuke the, kahin na kahin samajh gaye the ki he is uninterested towards music like this.” (I don’t think anyone forced him in any way. He made this decision himself. In fact, when he announced it publicly, all of us who had worked with him had already realized one or two years earlier that he had lost interest in this kind of film music.)He added, “Film music main bhi ek choice hoti hain ki kahin na kahin jab tum bade artist ban jaao. The greed of this place is such ki hum sabko, ‘paisa dedo, kuch bhi karlo, bana do aur Arijit Singh se gaao.’ Kyunki it translates to a hit, at least chance hain ki sun lenge log. Even Arijit later realizes it that gaana kitna achcha hain woh bhi matter karta hain.” (Even in film music, once you become a big artist, you have the freedom to choose your projects. The industry is so driven by money that people often think, ‘Just pay whatever it takes, make the song, and get Arijit to sing it.’ That’s because having Arijit Singh on a song increases the chances of it becoming a hit, or at least getting noticed. But even Arijit later realized that what truly matters is how good the song itself is.)The composer continued, “Aap initially, Arijit ke pehle ke 3-4 saal le lelo, usse gaana bana lo aur uske naame se chal jaati thi. Ab waisa nahi hota hain. Kisi ke bhi saath nahi hota hain, aap Arijit lelo ya Sonu Nigam agar gaane main baath nahi toh ek chota window tak hi usse sambhaal ke rakh sakte ho. If it is going to be loved, singer ka, composer ka aur lyricist ke saath ke energy se banta hain.” (If you look at the first three or four years of Arijit’s career, you could make almost any song with him, and it would become popular simply because of his name. That’s no longer the case, and it isn’t true for any singer, whether it’s Arijit or Sonu Nigam. If the song itself doesn’t have substance, a famous singer can only keep it afloat for a short time. A song is loved because of the combined effort and chemistry of the singer, composer, and lyricist.)

How Amaal Mallik got Arijit Singh to record the song

Amaal added, “So when he heard the song, it was nothing as we promised it earlier aur koi deal thi. People always think koi purana recorded gaana release ho gayi. For a year, it was in my voice, and usually Arijit and I play our music to each other also. Toh main 5-6 gaane bhejta hun usse main jo usse achcha lagta, we work on it, this is how it is for film’s music.” (When Arijit heard this song, it wasn’t because of any old promise or previous agreement. People often assume that an old recorded song was suddenly released, but that’s not true. For almost a year, the song existed only in my voice. Arijit and I regularly share music with each other. I send him five or six songs, and if he likes one, we work on it. That’s how we usually collaborate for film music.)He continued, “Through multiple languages, ek artist jo 700 songs gaa chukka hain, tahk jaata hain. Someone comes once in an era to become an Arijit Singh. Not everyone has the skillset, blessing of god or has the heart to step away in his prime. Iss gaane ko bhi ussne mujhse ladai ki, saying ‘Amaal ne itna achcha gaaya, mujhse kyu gaava rahe ho.’ I said it was my requirement and just about 3-4 months from abhi that he started recording. So, ek effort dil se ussne liya. Very rarely he does that now. People will say 1000 things, ki Arijit is back from retirement and did this song. This is his last song, agar kisi aur ka gaana usse pasand aaya toh he will sing and I will be happy if he does, atleast yaha aake kaam toh kar raha hain..” (After singing around 700 songs in multiple languages, any artist gets tired. Someone like Arijit Singh comes only once in a generation. Not everyone has his talent, God’s blessings, or the courage to step away at the peak of their career. Even for this song, he argued with me, saying, ‘Amaal has sung it so well, why do you want me to sing it?’ But I told him it was what I needed. About three or four months ago, he finally recorded it. He genuinely put his heart into the effort. These days, he rarely does that. People will say all sorts of things, ‘Arijit has come back from retirement for this song,’ or ‘This is his last song.’ But if he likes someone else’s song in the future, he’ll sing it, and I’ll be happy if he does. At least he’s still coming in and working when he feels inspired.)

Arijit Singh has quit film music, not music itself, clarifies Amaal

In conclusion, Amaal said, “Par logon ne aisa treat kar diya hain ki, it’s like he’s no more. Yeh obituary thodi hain, Arijit Singh ne film music chod diya hain, music nahi choda hain.” (People are treating this as if he’s no longer with us. This isn’t an obituary. Arijit Singh has stepped away from film music, not from music itself.)