"Katiya Karun" is a song composed by A. R. Rahman

A. R. Rahman

Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...

 for the 2011 Indian musical film Rockstar

Rockstar (2011 film)

Rockstar is a 2011 Hindi musical film directed by Imtiaz Ali, starring Ranbir Kapoor and debutant Nargis Fakhri, with music composed by A. R. Rahman. Eros International Ltd. co-produces the film with Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd...

. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor

Ranbir Kapoor

Ranbir Kapoor is an Indian actor who appears in Bollywood movies.Making his acting debut in the 2007 film Saawariya, for which he won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut, Kapoor went on to earn critical praise for his performance in Wake Up Sid...

, Nargis Fakhri

Nargis Fakhri

Nargis Fakhri is an American fashion model and actress. She made her feature film debut in Rockstar.-Early Life:Fakhri was born in Queens, New York to a Pakistani father and a Czech mother.-Career:...

 in leading roles and is directed by Imtiaz Ali

Imtiaz Ali (director)

Imtiaz Ali is an Indian film director, actor and writer. His 2007 film Jab We Met was a huge success in India. His 2009 film Love Aaj Kal was a bigger success and was declared a super-hit by Box Office India.His recent movie Rockstar has been declared successful at the box office.- Early life...

. The song features vocals by Sufi singer Harshdeep Kaur

Harshdeep Kaur

Harshdeep Kaur is an Indian playback singer known for her Sufi songs.-Biography:Harshdeep Kaur was born on 16 December 1986 in a Sikh family in Delhi and inherited music from her father, Savinder Singh, who owns a factory of musical instruments. Apart from studying, she started learning music at...

 and additional vocals by Sapna Awasthi. The song is based on Punjabi folk and Filmi

Filmi

Filmi is Indian popular music as written and performed for Indian cinema. Music directors make up the main body of composers; the songs are performed by playback singers and it makes up 72% of the music sales in India....

genres. It was positively received by critics and became a chartbuster in India.

Production

In an interview with Shweta Parande, when asked about the song's development, Kaur said:

"Rahman sir called me to his Powai studio and gave me the lyrics. ‘What is katiya karoon?’ he asked. I explained the meaning to him. The lyrics mean something like ‘I spin your cotton all night, the entire day is spent in this thought, I shall live and die for you, Be a spinning wheel O’ my body….’ He then said that he wanted a very catchy number, as it was going to be a fun song with Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri on the road. Rahman promptly started composing and created the song right in front of me! It is not a folk song, only the rhyme Katiya karoon… belongs to a Punjabi folk song. The song from Rockstar is an entirely original composition."