I owe my career to AR Rahman

The words are from Sukwinder Sing(h) : as he likes to call. Read the interview with him which appeared in santabanta.com

How did Chaiyya Chaiyya happen?
After my number Mujhe Rang De clicked, Rahman asked me to write lyrics for Dil Se too, when I explained to him about Peer Baba Bhuleshah.

Immediately I reminded him that in the first place I had actually gone to him to sing for him and not write lyrics. Rahman asked me if I could sing too and I told him that I only wanted to sang since my name is Sukhwinder Sing (h) I told him that whenever I sang, I felt like I was also listening to my song.

Did he readily ask you to sing Chaiyya Chaiyya in Dil Se?
I had to narrate Chaiyya Chaiyya in English to him. While Rahman did not understand Hindi at all, I did not understand a word of English or Tamil.

In fact after I wrote the first draft, Mani Ratnam felt that the song did not work out the way he wanted and walked out. It was only after some one explained to him correctly that he okayed the song for the film.

Since I am not good in English, while explaining the lyrics I said I'd kill myself instead of saying I'd be dead, because I could not translate properly from Hindi to English to Mani sir.

What has been the contribution of Rahman to your career?
A.R. Rahman has contributed a lot to my career. I owe my career to him. It is he who had made me reach the nook and corner of the world with his songs. My career actually started in Chennai and hence I call myself Sukhwinder Singh Iyer and not just Sukhwinder Singh.

Despite being a pucca Punjabi, how do you manage to sing in Tamil?
It is always the performance that matters when you sing, not the language. In any case I thin k I can sing in any language other than English. Ricky Martin sings only in Spanish. I have sung in Tamil for music directors like Deva and Rajkumar too, besides Rahman.