Composer Amaal Mallik recently opened up about the creative process behind Kabir Singh’s music, revealing a surprising fact that shows how much work goes into a film’s final soundtrack.
Out of six songs Mallik composed for the 2019 Shahid Kapoor film, only one made it to the final cut. This is actually more common in Bollywood than most of us realize—films often commission multiple versions of songs, and directors eventually pick what works best with the story.
When the Director’s Vision Changes Everything
During the filmmaking process, directors sometimes realize that certain scenes need a different mood or energy. A song that sounded perfect while recording might not fit once the scene is filmed. Sandeep Vanga, who directed Kabir Singh, apparently decided to go in a different musical direction as the project evolved.
This meant Mallik’s other five compositions didn’t survive the editing room. It’s a tough reality for music producers—sometimes their best work never sees the light of day because of creative decisions made later in production.
What This Tells Us About Bollywood Music
Most film enthusiasts think a movie’s soundtrack is ready before shooting starts. But that’s often not how it works. Composers create multiple options, directors experiment with different songs in different scenes, and ultimately, only the strongest tracks remain.
The one song that made it into Kabir Singh clearly resonated with what Vanga wanted to communicate. Whether it was perfectly timed with a pivotal moment or better captured the film’s emotional core, that final choice determined which music audiences would hear.
This process explains why you sometimes hear in interviews that musicians have unreleased songs. Those unused compositions are still valuable—they showcase an artist’s range and creative thinking, even if they weren’t selected for the final product.
Mallik’s experience with Kabir Singh is a reminder that filmmaking is highly collaborative. What sounds brilliant in isolation might not blend with the final edit. A composer’s job isn’t just to write good music—it’s to write music that serves the story the director wants to tell.
For music lovers, this also means there’s probably treasure in unreleased tracks. Many times, filmmakers eventually share these compositions on streaming platforms or during special interviews, giving fans a chance to hear the complete creative journey.
The next time you watch a Bollywood film and wonder about the songs, remember that there’s usually a bigger story behind what made it to the screen—and plenty of beautiful music that didn’t.