Playback singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya, renowned for his iconic romantic tracks for superstar Shah Rukh Khan, such as Tauba Tumhare Ishare and Tumhe Jo Maine Dekha, has finally revealed the reasons behind his long hiatus from singing for Bollywood's King Khan. Besides this, the singer has also opened up about a shocking encounter with gangster Abu Salem and the fallout with Shah Rukh, shedding light on the personal and professional struggles he has faced.

Abhijeet's frightening encounter with Abu Salem

In a candid conversation on a podcast with Shubhankar Mishra, Abhijeet made a startling revelation regarding his past. The singer confessed that he had received a threat call from notorious gangster Abu Salem back in 2000. Salem demanded a huge sum of money or insisted that Abhijeet sing for him. “I was very scared because he had killed 2-3 people back to back at that time, but I knew he wouldn’t kill me as we couldn’t fulfill his demands. He asked for about 60 lakh rupees,” Abhijeet shared. 

The singer recalled that Salem also asked for contact numbers of other popular singers like Kumar Sanu, and even referred to himself as "Thakur." The phone call didn’t end there—Salem called Abhijeet again and asked him to sing a song for his guests on the phone. In a moment of fear and urgency, Abhijeet rushed to the bathroom and began singing, while his wife, unaware of the situation, listened angrily, thinking he was singing to another woman. 

During the podcast, the interviewer brought up the topic of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, which led Abhijeet to react with a wry smile as he adjusted his collar. The interviewer, in lighter vein, then suggested that Abhijit's gesture might be because the gangster was now targeting the opposite side (referring to Salman Khan's involvement in the blackbuck poaching case). To this, Abhijeet replied with a smirk, “I will forever remember the blackbuck case."

The strained relationship with Shah Rukh Khan

In the podcast, Abhijeet also addressed the 17-year-long gap since he last worked with Shah Rukh Khan. The singer explained that while many of Shah Rukh’s contemporaries, including Farah Khan’s husband Shirish Kunder, had publicly insulted him, they later reconciled. However, Abhijeet felt completely ignored and neglected by Shah Rukh. “My problem is that I was expressing my pain,” Abhijeet said, reflecting on the time that passed without any attempt at communication or professional collaboration.

He added that Shah Rukh could have reached out to him, not necessarily to apologize, but to rebuild their professional relationship. “He could have come and hugged me. I wasn’t expecting an apology, but he could have said, ‘Let’s work together again.’ But people chose to ignore me,” Abhijeet expressed.

"We are made for each other, our voices are like husband and wife. Just like a husband and wife have small fights, someone has to patch up," he added hinting at his desire to get back with SRK.

Shah Rukh's colleagues and Abhijeet’s bold comments

During the podcast, Abhijeet made shocking remarks about Shah Rukh’s colleagues. He claimed that some of them had called Shah Rukh “hakla.” Recalling an incident at an award ceremony in Dubai, Abhijeet said that two stars approached him after he received an award and called him the one who sang for “hakla,” referring to Shah Rukh. Abhijeet also openly compared the two Khans. “Shah Rukh Khan has a different class... he is a superstar. Salman has none,” he remarked, even calling Salman Khan an alcoholic. 

This isn’t the first time Abhijeet has openly criticized Salman. In past interviews, he has accused Salman of supporting artists from "enemy countries" rather than uplifting Indian talent. The rift between the two singers has been public for some time, and Abhijeet has often voiced his disdain for Salman’s actions within the industry.