When Leslie Lewis revealed why his collaboration with Michael Jackson never happened

Indian singer and composer Leslie Lewis once recalled an unexpected connection between his popular song 'Paree Hoon Main' and the late Michael Jackson. Lewis revealed that the American pop star’s office contacted him after the track’s release, asking for its beats for a possible song.

However, the composer could not provide the requested audio because the beats were already mixed into the recording.Released in the early 1990s, 'Paree Hoon Main' became a favourite during Navratri celebrations. Falguni Pathak’s performances helped the song maintain its popularity over the years. Lewis shared the story in an Instagram post in 2025, thanking listeners for continuing to celebrate the track decades after its release.

Michael Jackson’s team reached out to Leslie Lewis

In a 2025 Instagram post, Lewis said Jackson’s office contacted him because the pop star wanted to use the beats of 'Paree Hoon Main' in one of his songs. The request presented an unusual opportunity, but Lewis faced a technical problem. He did not have a separate track containing only the beats.Leslie Lewis recalls the story behind 'Paree Hoon Main'In his 2025 Instagram post, Lewis thanked fans for keeping the song alive.

He revealed that he recorded 'Paree Hoon Main' in 1990 and released it in January 1991. He also expressed happiness that the track continues to be played around the world during Navratri.Recalling the call from Jackson’s office, Lewis said, “So I got, after I released Paree Hoon Main, a call from Michael Jackson’s office, saying, ‘Can we have the beats of Paree Hoon Main? Michael would love to use it in his song.’”What Lewis said about the missed opportunityExplaining why he could not fulfil the request, Lewis said, “We’ve got all these multi-tracks, so beats are all mixed up already in the mix track.

I don’t have a separate Beats track.”He added, “There’s no way I don’t have it, and that is the sad truth that I could not give the beats of Paree Hoon Main to Michael."Reflecting on the difference modern technology could have made, Lewis said, “During that time, AI was not there. So today, with Al, we can extract the beats, but at that time I couldn’t do it.”Leslie Lewis’s career and return to playback singingLewis is also known for Colonial Cousins, the musical duo he formed with singer Hariharan. Their debut album, 'Colonial Cousins', received international recognition.In 2026, Lewis returned to playback singing after a 26-year gap with 'Zorr Ka Dhakka', a track from the film 'Zorr'. Released on February 6, 2026, the movie featured music composed by Raju Singh.