Alia Bhatt didn't know that she could be a playback singer till music director, AR Rahman asked her to sing for Imtiaz Ali's film, 'Highway'. The actress, whose film releases today, recounts what it was like to work with the maestro.

`It was an out-of-body experience for me as I found myself in his recording studio with a headphone and a mic in front of me. I now want to learn singing and I want to join his music school in Chennai. What's more, my sister Shaheen loves music too. Both of us may go there and learn music together,` she says.

Ask her how she plans to make time for the course and she replies that she is keen on taking up a short-term courses. `I will make time for it,` says Alia, who has lent her voice to the lullaby Sooha Saha in Highway. Interestingly, it was director Imtiaz Ali who suggested her name to Rahman. It seems that the latter was skeptical about her singing talent at first but changed his mind when he heard her sing.


Mahesh Bhatt, Alia's father, says that he's surprised by his daughter's skill set. `She keeps hurling surprises at me. I thought I was the best singer in the family but now I have been displaced from the top spot,` he says, adding, `Shaheen is a good singer too.`