Last Updated:August 08, 2026, 06:50 IST

Sayeed Quadri discusses why Mustafa Zahid, who had originally sung Toh Phir Aao and Tera Mera Rishta, is missing from the album of Awarapan 2. He also reacts to Pritam’s absence.

Awarapan 2 starring Emraan Hashmi, Shabana Azmi and Disha Patani is slated for a release on August 14.

With Toh Phir Aao and Tera Mera Rishta, Awarapan introduced Indian music lovers to Pakistani singer Mustafa Zahid, whose soulful vocals became one of the film’s biggest highlights. The overwhelming response to the songs paved the way for him to sing in other Bollywood films such as Blood Money, Aashiqui 2 and Ek Villain, among others.

While both tracks have been reimagined for Awarapan 2, Mustafa is notably absent from them, with the likely reason being the long-standing restrictions on Pakistani artists. The new version of Tera Mera Rishta instead has been sung by Saaj Bhatt and Subodhh Sharma. Mustafa, on the other hand, revealed he received over 25,000 fan messages asking if he would return for Awarapan 2.

When Amaal Mallik, who recreated Toh Phir Aao, took to social media and publicly credited Mustafa for the original, the latter responded, ‘Borders are dangerous but then so is love.’ However, recent reports suggest the Pakistani singer is now in discussions with Vishesh Films to recreate Tera Mera Rishta, though the makers haven’t confirmed the development.

Now, speaking exclusively to News18, veteran lyricist Sayeed Quadri, who has penned both Toh Phir Aao and Tera Mera Rishta, reacts to Mustafa’s absence from the music album of Awarapan 2 and says, “Bahot saari cheeze hoti hai jo haalat and waqt ko dekh ke karni padhti hai. The most important thing is that nation should always come first. Desh sarvapari hai.”

Missing along with him is also Pritam, who had composed the music for the 2007 film. Amaal and Mithoon have now taken the reins over from him. Talking about it, Sayeed remarks, “Writers usually don’t have a say in this matter. So, I can’t say why Pritam isn’t a part of Awarapan 2. This call was taken by the production house. But Mithoon and Amaal have recreated the songs with a lot of heart.”

As for Awarapan, the film had an underwhelming performance at the box office despite opening to positive reviews. Earlier, speaking to us, Emraan had commented on how it ‘aged so well’. “It wasn’t so successful in 2007 but today, it’s my most successful film. It’s so surprising that what it didn’t do in the subsequent weekends at the box office, it did over a course of 20 years!” he had said.

He had revealed that the script of Awarapan 2 was in the works for ‘almost a couple of years’ as they ‘didn’t want to make a sequel just for the sake of it’. Recalling a fan episode, Emraan had recalled, “The public demand has been there for 15 years. The fan-base of that film is crazy! I’ve some crazy stories about that.”

“About six months back, a guy came up to me at a coffee shop in Dubai. He had a tattoo of Awarapan. It had a pigeon and something that signified freedom. I then sent a message to Vishesh (Bhatt) and Mukesh (Bhatt) ji and told them that we’re doing something right,” he added. For the unversed, Nitin Kakkar has replaced Mohit Suri as the director of Awarapan 2.

About the Author

Titas ChowdhurySenior Correspondent

Titas Chowdhury is a Special Correspondent at News18 Showsha. She writes about cinema, music and gender in cinema. Interviewing actors and filmmakers, writing about latest trends in showbiz and bringi…Read More