Sharda Sinha records the song in Mumbai

Folk singer Sharda Sinha has sung for an upcoming Bollywood film on child abuse and child trafficking.

She recorded the song for Char Footiya Chokre, starring Soha Ali Khan in the lead, in Mumbai on December 29 last year. The film — slated for a tentative June release — has been directed by debutant Manish Harishankar, a former assistant to Rajkumar Santoshi.

Sinha told The Telegraph: “This is the fourth Bollywood film I have sung in. I have always been choosy when it came to singing in a Bollywood film. Char Footiya Chokre is based on a social issue — it talks about child abuse and child trafficking — which is ubiquitous across the nation and especially in Bihar.

“The second reason I agreed to the song is it is an adaptation of Bhikhari Thakur’s famous song Beti Bechwa (the daughter seller). He is considered the Shakespeare of Bhojpuri and I am his great follower,” added the singer, also called Bihar’s Kokila.

This is the fourth Bollywood film in around 25 years that Sinha has lent her voice to. Her first Bollywood number was Kahe Toh Se Sajna in the 1989 film Maine Pyar Kiya starring Salman Khan and Bhagyashree. Later, she sang for Hum Aapke Hain Kaun...! (1994) and Anurag Kashyap’s critically acclaimed Gangs of Wasseypur Part II.

On the latest song, Sinha said: “The lyrics are very touching and close to my heart. It goes something like ‘Kaun se nagaria hai, char foot ki dehiyaa hai, baillan se sasta, hum beek gai ho babuji’.”

Director Manish, who is from Bettiah and has seen child trafficking through the India-Nepal border, said: “Shardaji is one of Bihar’s iconic singers, and if a film is related to Bihar, she has to make an appearance. Without her voice, the film would not have been complete. I am privileged that she accepted the offer to sing for my debut film.”