This one song probably
made more money than any other that year. Chaiyya
chaiyya also made a few careers, Sukhwinder Singh
for one, and Sapna Awasthi for another. The latter
was already making a name for herself, and the song
from Dil Se.. just underlined her presence.
Sapna Awasthi was a housewife, with almost no
aspirations to her present stardom. She had received
extensive classical training from a young age,
and was, as the case usually is, in great demand
during family events and the like.
One such event would change her life. Milind
of the songwriting team of Anand-Milind was
a family friend, and at his engagement party
Sapna, was, as usual, literally pushed onto
stage to sing. And sing she did, belting out
an impressive version of Banno.
That was a foot in the door, and with a subsequent
roller-coaster of events culminating in the hit
Pardesi pardesi from the film Raja Hindustani, Sapna
Awasthi had broken through and emerged a winner.
Nadeem-Shravan, with their emphasis on melody, decided
to use her voice, and the song's success catapulted
her into the highly-paid realms of playback singing.