Asha Bhonsle, Khayyam and Rekha at the music recording for Yatra

Goutam Ghose?s Hindi feature film Yatra marks Khayyam?s journey back to the limelight after a long hibernation. And it also brings back a whiff of the melody magic of Umrao Jaan. Twenty-five years after a bejewelled Rekha mesmerised us all as tawaif Umrao Jaan crooning his tune Dil cheez kya hai..., the veteran composer has made music for her again. And this time too, Rekha will lip-sync to ghazals sung by Asha Bhonsle.

Produced by Bipin Vohra, Yatra follows the journey of an award-winning novelist (Nana Patekar) and a young film-maker (Nakul Vaid) to unravel the character of Lajwanti (Rekha). Shot in Hyderabad, Calcutta and Delhi, the film also stars Deepti Naval.

Though a tawaif, Lajwanti is different from Umrao Jaan, and so is Khayyam?s music. ?I can assure you that you will get the traditional Khayyam in Yatra. Ashaji has done a splendid job. She?s so versatile. One shouldn?t expect her to sing exactly as she had done so many years ago, but she has worked on all the intricacies that I had wanted her to,? says the 80-year-old who has given music to four tracks for Yatra. Alka Yagnik, Talat Aziz and Udit Narayan are the other singers. The lyrics are by Naksh Lal Puri, Sameer and Bashir Ahmed.

Yatra apart, Khayyam has also scored music for a film tentatively titled Banaras 1918 ? A Love Story, due for release later this year. ?The film is based on Munshi Premchand?s Bazaare Husn. The two stories (Yatra and Banaras) appealed to me and so I took up the films after so many years. I take up a project only if I like the subject. The films that have been made in the past 10 to 12 years were full of nudity... Then there was Rekha in Yatra, once again after so many years. She was so excited that she dropped in during the recording. So, the Umrao Jaan team was there again,? he laughs.

The two films apart, music album Shagufti will bear his signature tunes. ?Kaifi Azmi had a wish that I would set some of his poetry to music. So I have chosen some and composed the music,? says Khayyam. The eight-song album features singers Kavita Krishnamurthy, Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan and Roopkumar Rathod.

?My entire musical career has been very poetic. I like to create tunes that are melodious and meaningful, and I work on lyrics that say something about a subject,? adds the melody maker of Kabhie Kabhie, Ahista and Razia Sultana. Khayyam in fact picks Aye Dil-e-nadaan from Razia Sultana as the tune closest to his heart. ?That song was the turning point in my career. Woh mera pehchaan ban gaya tha. After that song, people like Yash Chopra and Sahir Ludhianvi started coming to my door,? he reminisces.