In 2012, Ghoshal rendered her voice for popular item song, "Chikni Chameli" from film Agneepath. The song was composed by Ajay-Atul and was a remake of their own Marathi song "Kombdi Palali" from film "". Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama stated, "A special word for Shreya Ghoshal too who changes her singing style in a big way and comes up trumps. She gets the kind of rustic flavour that was the need of the hour and is superb in her rendition." Ghoshal received her one of the two Filmfare nominations of the year for the song. Later, she revealed that she "wasn't very comfortable" singing the song because of its vulgar lyrics and requested the makers to change few words in it. The same year, she performed four songs, all composed by Sajid–Wajid for film Rowdy Rathore which received mixed reviews from critics. For the duet song "Dhadang Dhang Dhang" performed by Ghoshal alongside Sajid, Devesh Sharma of Filmfare remarked, "Shreya Ghoshal puts the ’90s ka tadka' in her rendition" and for lullaby song "Chandaniya" he said, "Shreya Ghoshal sounds uncannily like Alka Yagnik and proves that she is a singer for all occasions". Joginder Tuteja from Bollywood Hungama stated in relation to "Chandaniya", "Shreya Ghoshal can fit into any mode as per the demand of the situation". The song "Tera Ishq Bada Teekha" received mixed reviews from music critics. Ghoshal then lent her voice in a Four-part harmony song, "Radha" from "Student of the Year" alongside Udit Narayan, Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani which garnered critical appreciation. In the same year, she again collaborated with A.R. Rahman for a duet song "Saans" from film Jab Tak Hai Jaan along with Mohit Chauhan. The song received positive to mixed reviews by critics. At the poll conducted by Indiatimes, the song "Saans" won the title of "Most Romantic Song of the year 2012". The song earned Ghoshal second of her two Filmfare nominations of the year.