Imtiaz Ali calls SRK's 'Safar' a modern human anthem

Indian auteur Imtiaz Ali, who is gearing up for the release of his upcoming film ‘Main Vapas Aaunga’, has shared how the song ‘Safar’ from the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’ was put together. He shared that the song perfectly describes the state of mind of a contemporary human being.

The director spoke with IANS during the promotions of ‘Main Vapas Aaunga’, and shared that the song has had a journey of its own. He said that the song was originally conceptualized as a heavy blues song but ended up in the space of “country meets blues”.

He told IANS, “That was a very blues song when we conceptualized it and when we were singing it and even before the lyrics were written. Later, it became a little different, but still it retains an element of ‘country meets blues’, that kind of a zone. And it's a very singing on the guitar kind of a song and it's also very here and now. I feel that this line that Irshad has written, ‘idhar ka hi hoon na, udhar ka raha, safar ka hi tha main safar ka raha’, that I'm neither, I don't belong to where I come from and I don't belong to where I'm going. It's like the state of the contemporary human”.

‘Safar’ is one of the most iconic tracks in music composer Pritam’s discography considering its structure, the orchestration, and layering of the instruments.

He further mentioned, “One feels that one is always in a travel, it's in a state of flux that we exist in. So I feel that it's a very interesting song. I really love taking the shots of that song because there was a sense of great association. Whenever we were shooting, there were some shots at the railway station. I think in Budapest, where SRK is just sitting and we were shooting and a train was coming, that kind of shot. I feel it was so nice and very fulfilling to take those shots”.

Meanwhile, ‘Main Vapas Aaunga’ is produced by Sameer Nair and Deepak Segal of Applause Entertainment, along with Mohit Choudhary and Shibasish Sarkar of Window Seat Films. The film is set to release in cinemas on June 12, 2026.