One of AR Rahman's most popular Tamil hits in recent times is the Ponni Nadhi song from the Mani Ratnam directed Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022). Unfortunately days before PS-I's release in theaters, Ponni Nadhi singer Bamba Bakya passed away due to a cardiac arrest. 

L-R: Late singer Bamba Bakya (died 2022) with AR Rahman

Similarly Shahul Hameed, the voice behind AR Rahman's evergreen hit Usilampatti Penkutti from the Tamil movie Gentleman (1993) tragically died in a car crash in 1997. Both these singers' voices have now been brought back to life using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in AR Rahman's latest work Lal Salaam (2024). 

L-R: Late singer Shahul Hameed (died 1997) with AR Rahman in the 90s

Lal Salaam starring Rajinikanth in a special apperance and Vishnu Vishal, Vikranth in the lead had an audio launch event on Republic day i.e. January 26, 2024. A 2 minute 47 second song titled Thimiri Yezhuda was one of the five songs revealed to be part of the Lal Salaam album.

This Thimiri Yezhuda song with lyrics by Snehan, has male playback singing by the late Bamba Bakya and Shahul Hameed's AI voices. Lal Salaam is co-written and directed by Aishwarya Rajinikanth, and has Sony Music label for its audio rights. The movie is a production venutre of Lyca Productions.