'Uyire... Uyire…', written by Vairamuthu for the film 'Bombay', composed by AR Rahman and sung by Hariharan and Chitra, remains a timeless favourite across generations. The song, also released in Hindi as 'Tu Hi Re', gained widespread popularity and is often described as one that has “melted many hearts”.

AR Rahman has now shared the story behind its creation. In an interview with a YouTube channel, Rahman revealed that Hariharan was not the first choice to render the tune he had composed. He said Hariharan was a singer he never expected to voice such a track, even mimicking Hariharan’s distinctive singing style during the interview.

“Mani wanted a love song. I was like, "What love song?"

And I was so famished. And I was, like, sleeping. And then, this tune was coming to my mind. I said, "It's so slow." So anyway, it's coming. It's like coming in my dream. I used to have a tape recorder, like a mini-cassette.

So I just recorded it. And so the next day, he was like, "Where is the tune?"I said, "I got my own tune." He was like, "It's okay. Let's record."

And then we recorded it. And so for the singers, I wanted SP Balasubrahmanyam or K J Yesudas. And I also put Hariharan's name. And then I picked. I don't do that anymore. So I prayed and picked one. It had Hariharan's name.” Rahman said.

Rahman added that Hariharan was an “unusual choice” because of his background.

“He's a ghazal singer. And even now, when he sings concerts, he improvises in his own way. He doesn't stand on one note, because that's his style. So we recorded it. And then, Mani shot it,” Rahman said.

After the recording, director Mani Ratnam filmed the sequence to the song, completing what Rahman described as a creation with “an interesting history.”