/> Apart from a song each in Khamoshi ( Bahon ke darmiyan) and Hum ...Dil De Chuke Sanam ( Chand chupa badal mein) Alka Yagnik has been strangely quiet in the cinema of Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

But recently Alka Yagnik broke the khamoshi by recording a song for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Sawariya. It will be filmed on Rani Mukherjee.

Laughs Alka, "It was such a pleasure singing for Sanjay-ji. Such a lovely song. It has lots of cute nuances. He's so amazing! I admit there was a misunderstanding between us.. Bahon ke darmiyan and Chand chupa badal mein were memorable songs in my career.

But I think something happened long ago which had upset him. If I had known what had upset him I'd have clarified. Lekin amna-samna nahin hota hai. Finally to have sung for him was a joy."

Even though she was nominated for a song Alka skipped an awards event on Saturday evening to record the song for Sanjay Bhansali. "To me work always comes first. And specially this occasion when I was singing for Sanjay for the first time everything else paled into insignificance. Sanjay has such a strong music sense. Not too many filmmakers are that music minded."

She's all praise for the Sawariya composer Monty Singh. "I found him very relaxed and yet enthusiastic. I was very comfortable working with him. In the coming years, I think Monty will be one of the composers to reckon with. He's fortunate to be launched by a genius like Sanjay Bhansali who'll showcase Monty's talent like no one else."

Alka was very disappointed by the way her songs in Umrao Jaan were received. "No one had seen the hard work we had put in. For an entire month we were doing only these songs. I think the film and its music were deliberately ignored. The connossieurs say they'll preserve it in their library.

For me that's enough. 2007 has started very well with a recording for Sanjay Bhansali. I'd like to do something different this year, though after Umrao Jaan, not ghazals. I also have Love Story 2050 and Jodha-Akbar to look forward to."

She's bothered by the lack of originality in today's film songs. "Yes, there're a lot of re-mixes happening. It's the current trend. But melodious music will always remain predominant. I'm getting my quota of songs. I don't want to sing more than that. I'll tell you something.

The face of the heroine in Hindi cinema has changed. They're no longer the delicate beauties that they were until the days of Madhuri Dixit. Today's heroine is a woman of the world. Their ghost voices have changed accordingly. The kind of voices that were earlier seen to be suited to vamps, husky and seductive, are now used for the heroines.

Sometimes I feel the wrong voices are being used to highlight this aggressive trend. But it's okay. It's just a trend.As long as I get a song like Sawariya I'm happy. My voice has today attained a certain rounded quality. I go for the best song. The rest, I leave to the rest."

Sanjay Leela Bhansali On The Return Of Alka Yagnik:

"I'd never compromise on the quality of vocals in my cinema. If Kavita Krishnamurthyji is required I'd happily approach her. She has contributed so much to the music in my cinema. If I need Shreya Ghosal I'd go to her.

I introduced her in Devdas and am very happy by the progress she has made. Shreya has sung for Sawariya. For this particular song I instinctively felt the need for Alkaji. She's a fabulous singer.

When she came for our recording she understood the tune completely and sang effortlessly. She's so focused. She recorded for five hours. We didn't bring up our past differences for even a minute."