The musician, who is being criticised nationally for his composition of the Commonwealth Games track written by lyricist Mehboob, made a hush-hush trip to Mumbai just for a day before boarding the flight to the US for the American leg of his world tour. BT has learned that while in the city, Rahman shot for a reality show but his main purpose was to meet one of his icons — Asha Bhosle, who turned 77 on Wednesday.
Rahman handpicked 77 roses for the legendary singer to celebrate her birthday but unfortunately both of them could not match their timings and he had to courier the bouquet of roses to Asha’s residence on Peddar Road. One of Rahman’s closest aides said, “It is a mark of respect from Rahman’s side to Asha, a singer he has idolised for many years now. He somehow wanted to make the day special for her. When he realised that he couldn’t meet her, Rahman made it a point that the roses reached Asha on her birthday. He also took a confirmation that the roses had reached her residence from the courier company before boarding the flight. Rahman wanted to keep the visit secret as he did not want unnecessary media attention on him at a time when he is being criticised by almost everyone.”