In a refreshingly honest chat with Siddharth Kannan, rapper and performer Baba Sehgal opened up about an unusual chapter in his music journey, his one and only collaboration with the maestro A.R. Rahman.

The conversation took a nostalgic detour to the early ’90s when Baba Sehgal was performing in Chennai and was unexpectedly approached for a Hindi version of a Tamil track.

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Recalling the moment, Baba said an assistant director had come up to him backstage and played a Tamil song — “Rukmani Rukmani” — from ‘Roja’. He didn’t think too much of it at the time and casually agreed to do it.

But things took a turn when Rahman and his team visited Baba at his hotel later to discuss the release strategy and logistics.

He ended up connecting them with some of his friends in the music circuit, and soon the Hindi version was in motion — with him on vocals.

But when Baba read the Hindi lyrics for the first time, he was in shock. “I looked at them and said, ‘Kitne vahiyat lyrics hai yaar. Kisne likha hai ye?’” he revealed.

He added that while lyrics might sound poetic or acceptable in another language, the same words in your own mother tongue can feel jarring if they lack depth or decency.

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In Baba’s opinion, neither Rahman nor filmmaker Mani Ratnam realized the awkwardness of the Hindi translation. “I don’t think they even knew what the lyrics actually meant,” he remarked.

He also shared that the collaboration was never truly organic. “It was a forced thing. I wasn’t convinced. I thought the lyrics were cheap.”

While another female singer had originally recorded the female portions, Baba later suggested Swetha Shetty, who re-recorded the lines — and “nailed it,” as he recalled.

Despite the song’s release and some buzz at the time, Baba said he and Rahman never worked together again. “Language was a barrier. We never really clicked after that.”

Now hailed as India’s original rapper, Baba Sehgal has had a career spanning decades, dabbling in music, television, and reality shows — including a stint on ‘Bigg Boss’ back in 2006.