Anand Raaj Anand ruled the charts in the late 90s and 2000s. After a sabbatical, he has made a comeback with Welcome To The Jungle and now he’s here to stay. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, he gave a hint about his upcoming projects.

EXCLUSIVE: Anand Raaj Anand returns with a bang after Welcome To The Jungle; bags Akshay Kumar-Vidya Balan’s untitled next, hints at reunion with Sanjay Gupta for Kaante 2

When remarked that Welcome (2007) was his first film with Akshay Kumar, Anand Raaj Anand revealed, “Yes, it was, followed by Welcome To The Jungle. I am now also working on his next film, co-starring Vidya Balan. It is directed by Anees Bazmee.”

Backed by Sri Venkateswara Creations, the film also has Raashii Khanna playing a pivotal role alongside Vijay Raaz and Sudesh Lehri. Produced by Dil Raju Shirish Reddy and Kuldeep Rathore in association with Cape of Good Films, the untitled comedy marks the 60th production venture of Sri Venkateswara Creations, and is all set to release on December 4, 2026.

Bond with Sanjay Gupta
Anand Raaj Anand then went down memory lane and opened up about working with Sanjay Gupta, “I worked with him in 5 films and composed nearly 20 songs.” These 5 films were Kaante (2002), Plan (2004), Shootout At Lokhandwala (2007), Dus Kahaniyaan (2007) and Shootout At Wadala (2013).

Anand Raaj Anand continued, “I have had the maximum hits with Sanjay Gupta. Total action ko bhi musical bana diya un gaano ne, be it ‘Unke Nashe Mein’, ‘Laila’, ‘Mere Yaar’, ‘Ishq Samandar’, ‘Maahi Ve’, ‘Jaane Kya Hoga’, ‘Yaar Mangiyasi’, ‘Pyaar Aaya’, ‘Ishq Kabhi Kariyo Na’ etc. It was a historic combination and even in the future, it’ll continue. Recently, Sanjay Gupta ji told me that he’s working on the script of Kaante 2. So, we’ll be joining hands soon!”

Kaante’s songs had a new sound, unlike the other Hindi commercial songs of that era, adding to its appeal. Anand Raaj Anand agreed, “Yes, we had worked hard a lot on that front. Film jaisi hoti hai, waise gaane banane padte hai. This film was set in LA and not a single scene was shot in India. The technicians were also from the West. So, Sanjay Gupta had instructed me at the very start that ‘Apne ko naya, global level ka sound design chahiye’.”

He added, “You must have noticed that after Kaante, the sound of the industry changed. Before Kaante, that was not the case. Kaante’s music proved that soulful music can be enhanced electronically while also ensuring that it doesn’t turn noisy.”

The trivia behind the iconic Bichhoo song
A memorable song from Anand Raaj Anand’s discography is ‘Jeevan Mein Jaane Jaana’ from Bichhoo (2000), starring Bobby Deol. The music composer revealed, “We had the tune of the song ready. I was seated in a jamming session with my brother, Harry Anand. We came up with a line that we repeated again and again, ‘Jeevan Mein Jaane Jaana Ek Baar Hai Hota Pyaar’. If you notice, this is the only line in the song’s mukhda. The same line has been sung 4 times! I sang this song in front of director Guddu Dhanoa and asked him whether we should change the lyrics. He replied, ‘Don’t change a single line’. I told him, ‘Isme toh saari line ek hi hai’! His answer was, ‘Jo bhi hai, dekh lenge. I don’t want to add any more lyrics to the song’.”

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