MUMBAI: Music composer Jigar Saraiya of the duo Sachin-Jigar, who serve as mentors on the singing reality show, ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’, recollected how they were offered their first paid gig by music composer Anu Malik.
The latest episode of ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’ sees Anu Malik and Kumar Sanu gracing the sets of the show. Jigar recalled how Anu Malik not only gave him and Sachin their first paid job opportunity but also their first award for the hit song ‘Apna Bana Le’.
Talking about the same, Jigar said, “Back in 2008, one day, I got a call from Anu Malik. Sachin and I were in disbelief. He asked us to come to a studio to record a song, and I told Sachin that someone was doing a prank with us. But when Sachin heard his voice on the call, he said we should definitely go because it was Anu Malik. We were literally wearing short pants and chappals, and we took a bus to the studio. He then took us out in his big fancy car and made us listen to a lot of songs while we were on the drive. He made us feel like everything is possible, and after that, he said ‘Ye jo sab suna hai tumne, use better kaam Anu Malik aur Sachin-Jigar saath me karenge’”.
He added, “After that, he gave us a song for the movie ‘Kambakkht Ishq’, which was our first paid job. I cannot forget how that one phone call has inspired us to reach where we are today. We were wearing rubber slippers when we met him, but he did not hesitate to make us sit in his car, he made us feel like a part of his family, and it felt like home. He never made us feel like we were working for him, he always said we would do it together. This is what great people are made of. Cut to, when we got our first award for ‘Apna Bana Le’, it was presented to us by sir (Anu Malik), it was a big moment in our life and that day he told us that you guys deserve to judge a reality show and it will happen within a year. And here we are today”.