Hasan Jahangir reveals he was paid $50,000 for 'Dhurandhar's' Hawa Hawa

In a recent interview, Jahangir opened up about the massive success of his songs and revealed he received $50,000 for his song Hawa Hawa in Dhurandhar.

Pakistani pop singer Hasan Jahangir, who is the voice behind the 1987 hit Hawa Hawa, had made some bombshell revelations.

In a recent appearance with host Nida Yasir in ARY Digital's Ramadan special Shan e Sahoor, Jahangir opened up about the massive success of his song and how he now gets paid thousands of dollars for his songs.

When Yasir asked if people pay him for using his songs in their films, Jahangir nodded.

"A film that was made with a budget of Rs 300 crore and had earned Rs 1,100 crore recently has paid me $50,000 for featuring my song," he said.

He further added that most of his old songs like Shawa Ve, Nakhra Gori Da, Aa Jaana Dil Deewana, Hato Bacho, and Hawa Hawa are now being used in films.

"Now I receive money whenever these songs are used. Earlier it wasn’t like this. There was no proper copyright system in the world. But now, whoever uses my songs first takes permission from me," he said, while adding that he only once gave it for free to Pakistan Idol.

The hit song, he said, is now four-decade old. "It’s just two years younger than me," he joked and added, "The song is now 40 years old."

The song was recorded in 1986 and was launched in 1987.

Yasir further asked him about the time when he went to India by helicopter and Govinda had come to the airport to receive him.

"I didn’t know that music lovers were so crazy about me. When I landed at Bombay airport, I realised no one was at their duty posts. All the customs officers and intelligence staff were following me. I didn’t know I had such craze among people," he recalled.

Jahangir added that some big actors and actresses had come to receive him at the airport, leaving him surprised. He also revealed that even Govinda had sung Hawa Hawa back then.

"Then from there, because there was such a huge crowd, they took me in a convoy to Hotel Sea Rock. From Sea Rock, I had to go to the stadium for the show. When I was going to the show, I saw so many cars, fire brigade vehicles, and ambulances. So I asked my manager, 'Hi, what’s going on here? Why are there so many cars?' He said, 'Nothing. This is for you, sir,'" he said.

Jahangir added, "That’s when I realised what real stardom is."

While Hawa Hawa has been a massive hit among the older generations, the newer generations, particularly Gen Z, only started grooving to the tune when it was featured in the 2025 superhit film Dhurandhar, directed by Aditya Dhar. The sequel to which is all set to release on March 19, 2026.