Arijit Singh’s playback singing retirement has taken an unexpected turn with reports linking him to Yeh Awarapan, the first song from ‘Awarapan 2’. The song, composed by Amaal Mallik and written by Rashmi Virag, is scheduled to release on July 21 across streaming platforms.

As per a Pinkvilla report, Arijit has reunited with Vishesh Bhatt for the track. The song is said to be designed around the emotional world of Emraan Hashmi’s character, Shivam Pandit, in the upcoming sequel.

The development, however, has been followed by a clarification from Arijit Singh’s manager. Speaking to ThePrint, the manager reportedly said that the singer is “not returning to playback singing”.

The reported association between Arijit and Awarapan 2 comes years after his musical collaborations with Vishesh Films. Their work together includes Phir Mohabbat from ‘Murder 2’, Tum Hi Ho from ‘Aashiqui 2’, Muskurane from ‘CityLights’, the title tracks of Khamoshiyan and ‘Hamari Adhuri Kahani’, and Pal from ‘Jalebi’.

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‘Awarapan 2’ features Emraan Hashmi, Disha Patani, Shabana Azmi, Surendar Vicky, Vijayant Kholi and Atul Kumar. The film is produced by Vishesh Bhatt, directed by Nitin Kakkar and written by Bilal Siddiqui. It is scheduled to release in theatres on August 14.

Arijit Singh had announced in January that he would not be accepting new assignments as a playback vocalist. The singer shared the update in an Instagram post while thanking listeners for their support over the years.