British pop star Ed Sheeran has pulled back the curtain on his Hindi playback singing debut, revealing that his contribution to Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming action drama King came about during a visit to the Bollywood legend's home.
What started as a friendly request for a music video appearance turned into a late-night studio session. Ed posted behind-the-scenes footage on Instagram showing himself in the studio with Jigar Saraiya of composer duo Sachin-Jigar. He explained how a visit to Mannat to secure a cameo for his track Sapphire—a collaboration with Arijit Singh—led directly to his first Bollywood feature.
"When I first met Shah Rukh, he said I must make a song to be in his next movie and also be my first Bollywood song," Ed wrote. "Last time I was India I went to his house to get him to shoot a cameo in the Sapphire music video for me and @arijitsingh. He introduced me to @sachinjigar that day and i wrote and recorded my verse for Tu Mil Jaaye for his movie King that night."
Shah Rukh reshared the clip with a warm note of gratitude, praising the singer's effort on the Hindi lyrics: "Can't thank u enough my friend for doing the song... especially the Hindi bits. Love u @teddysphotos."
Released on November 2 to coincide with Shah Rukh's 61st birthday, Tu Mil Jaaye features vocals by Arijit and Madhubanti Bagchi alongside Ed's English rap. The romantic track quickly set a new YouTube record, registering 36.3 million views in its first 24 hours to become the most-watched song from an Indian film on the platform in a single day.
Directed by Siddharth Anand, King reunites Shah Rukh with Deepika Padukone and also stars Suhana Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukerji and Arshad Warsi. The film is scheduled for release on December 24,2026.
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