Audacious tone, star-studded cameos, and a cheeky take on the Hindi film industry — Aryan Khan’s maiden directorial venture, The Ba***ds of Bollywood, promises all this. And it turns out, a throwback to the late 1990s. mid-day has learnt that Shah Rukh Khan personally ensured an iconic entry sequence for Bobby Deol in the series by securing the actor’s popular track, Duniya Haseeno Ka Mela, from Gupt (1997).

Rajiv Rai

Deol stars alongside Mona Singh, Lakshya, and Saher Bambba in the Netflix offering. Sources tell us that Shah Rukh, who is among the series’ producers, felt that the dance number — which served as Deol’s entry song in Gupt — would serve the perfect balance of nostalgia and impact as he would be introduced in The Ba***ds of Bollywood. With that in mind, the superstar picked up the phone on the popular murder mystery’s maker Rajiv Rai and requested him for the song’s rights. A source reveals, “Aryan’s debut series is an entertaining mix of love, satire, and insider commentary on Bollywood. Bobby, who has gained second wind in his career in recent years, has one of the show’s most memorable entries. His song is among the many real-life references that have been used in the show.”