Hasan Minhaj reflects on impromptu Timberlake rendition with AR Rahman
What's the story
Comedian Hasan Minhaj recently went viral for a hilarious moment with music maestro A.R. Rahman. The incident took place when Minhaj was trying to explain a musical structure on his podcast, leading him to sing an impromptu version of Justin Timberlake's Cry Me a River. In an interview with Variety India, Minhaj humorously reflected on the moment going viral on social media.
Vocal mishap
'I clearly butchered Justin's verses'
Despite Rahman's apparent indifference to Minhaj's vocal performance, the comedian wasn't as forgiving.
He jokingly apologized to Timberlake and The Neptunes, who produced the track, for "butchering" their song.
He quipped, "I clearly butchered Justin's verses, so I wanna just apologize to Justin Timberlake."
"I think obviously that's one of your guys' best tracks and I butchered it, but that was a moment between A.R. Rahman and me."
Viral moment
Minhaj says Rahman 'understands Hindi cinema, Tamil cinema'
Reflecting on the incident, Minhaj said, "You know, that's how you know A.R. Rahman is a genius, when I'm quoting Justin Timberlake's Justified to him, and A.R. has no idea, but he understands it melodically."
"So he is a true music genius alien, in the sense that he understands Hindi cinema, Tamil cinema, obviously American cinema, but at the same time, he didn't know Justin Timberlake's Justified, but he could understand it from the melody."
New venture
Minhaj is producing and starring in 'Best of the Best'
On the work front, Minhaj is gearing up for his upcoming Netflix Bollywood-fusion dance comedy, Best of the Best.
He co-wrote, produced, and stars in this project as Professor Hamza Latif.
The film is set to release on September 18, with Rahman composing the soundtrack.