Raja Kumari: One call from Shah Rukh Khan for TBOB; I was all in
When your childhood vision board has Shah Rukh Khan’s picture on it, you don’t expect the universe to actually dial his number into your phone one day, let alone mid-flight. For Grammy-nominated rapper Raja Kumari, that magic became real as she became the voice behind Aryan Khan’s Netflix hit The Ba***ds of Bollywood.
She tells CE how this journey from California to Bollywood unfolded, note by note.
How does it feel to be associated with The Ba***ds of Bollywood?
Every time I do a project like this, I just think God loves me. Growing up in America, I had a poster of Shah Rukh Khan on my wall, and even on my vision board, I put him and his family. I didn’t just want to meet him, I wanted to know him. Working with Aryan has been humbling — he’s a visionary, an incredible artist with conviction. To be part of his first project and that legacy is an honour. From Claremont, California, to that red carpet in Mumbai; it felt like a family reunion. That’s why I said I’m Bollywood’s resident NRI. They’ve made me feel so welcome. And then to turn on Netflix and see the show at number one, with my voice in those iconic moments, it’s proof that if you stay focused, doors open.
Could you recall the moment you received a call from SRK for this project?
The first time SRK ever called me was for Husn Parcham (Zero). There’s a video of it — me speaking calmly, but inside I was crying. This time, I was on a flight in New York. I see ‘SRK’ calling, pick up and say, ‘Hello?’ He said Aryan was working on a project and there was a song he’d love me to do. Honestly, there was no convincing needed. Shah Rukh, Gauri, Suhana; they’ve all been so kind to me. I told him, ‘Just give Aryan my number.’ Aryan and I built our own friendship. He impressed me with his instinct. I kept joking: ‘When are we making your album?
How did you manage time across different zones?
One thing you should know about the Khans: they live in their own time zone. Aryan would give me feedback at night in India, I’d work during the US daytime, and by the time he woke up, I’d have a new version. It started with one song, then became two. He was clear with direction, like Atlee was with Jawan. Aryan painted the picture so vividly I could visualise scenes before even watching them. Aryan is very invested, informed, and self-aware. His lyric choices and direction showed that. Once, I added huge stacks of background vocals with a country-western touch, he and his team gave me space to create. It wasn’t just execution, it was true collaboration. He was clear from the start. His descriptions of characters and scenes were enough inspiration.
You’ve been wanting to break stereotypes about South Asian artistes. Was this project a step in that direction?
My dream has always been to inject global sound into Bollywood. At first, people thought my choice to sing in English as a limitation. But Bollywood has evolved — pan-Indian collaborations made space for English lyrics. Shah Rukh took a risk with Jawan, giving a female voice to a male lead. Aryan did the same. On Revolver, the film you see in The Ba***ds of Bollywood, he put me with Vishal Dadlani; someone I’d dreamed of collaborating with. It was another vision-board moment.
How much of your own identity was reflected in The Ba***ds of Bollywood?
The show is self-aware. Aryan literally exposed the realities and poked fun at them, like Karan Johar playing himself. The reaction shows audiences want stories written by us, for us. When I did ‘Everybody Knows’, Lord Bobby’s theme, I wanted to bring that big American, country-western anthem energy. Maybe earlier people would’ve hesitated, but Aryan gave me control. And come on, Bobby Deol is an icon.
Hyderabad is where your art began. How does it feel returning?
Hyderabad is my hometown, my DNA. My earliest memories of dance and art are from Ravindra Bharati and Kuchipudi village. Summers in Wadasiguda shaped me. Now, seeing The Ba***ds of Bollywood posters on the streets, it’s emotional. My grandmother can watch me on TV, my father gave me the American dream, and now I’m giving back to India. It feels like fulfilling my dharma. Coming from California, India felt magical: riding gullies, muggus, buying mallepoolu, recreating looks from Swarna Kamalam. Spending summers with no internet, writing letters — it grounded me.
Something symbolic you carry from Hyderabad?
My grandmother’s ring. She’s always with me that way. And I proudly say ‘Ayyo’, I make sure people know I’m Telugu. Whenever I see Chiranjeevi, Allu Arjun, or Lakshmi Manchu, I say it’s Telugu supremacy. I’m excited for what’s next, including some Telugu music just for my hometown.
(Story By Tejal Sinha)
