Kal Ho Naa Ho (song)

"Kal Ho Naa Ho"
Single by Sonu Nigam
from the album Kal Ho Naa Ho soundtrack
Released 27 September 2003 (India)
Genre Romance
Length 5:23
Label Sony Music
Songwriter(s) Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (music)
Javed Akhtar (lyrics)
Producer(s) Karan Johar
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"Kal Ho Naa Ho" (transl. Tomorrow may never come; Hindi pronunciation: [kəl ɦoː naː ɦoː]) is a 2003 Hindi-language filmi song performed by Sonu Nigam for the 2003 Indian romantic drama film of the same name. The track was composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, while lyrics were written by Javed Akhtar. In a pathos version, Nigam is joined by Alka Yagnik and Richa Sharma. Kal Ho Naa Ho was directed by Nikhil Advani and written by Karan Johar; the latter co-produced it with his father Yash Johar under the banner of Dharma Productions. The music video of "Kal Ho Naa Ho" features leads Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, and Preity Zinta; the former sings about life's unpredictability and wistfully watches the others romance.

Sonu Nigam was busy when the song was to be recorded. Instead of opting for some other singer, Karan Johar decided to wait for a month before Sonu came back and recorded the song for the movie[1] The song was featured in Outlook's list of Bollywood's Timeless Melodies, making it the only contemporary selection on the list.[2] It quickly became popular upon release. The song is one of the most popular Hindi film songs all time.

Music video

Aman imagines himself in Rohit's place, romancing Naina.

Production

The theme of the song was composed by Loy Mendonsa of the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy trio[3] and Shankar Mahadevan arranged the groove.[4]

In a later interview in the documentary "Pancham unmixed", Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy revealed that the music of the segment "har pal yahaan" in the song was inspired by the music of R.D.Burman.[5]

Reception and legacy

Awards

The song was featured in Outlook magazine's 20 Best Hindi Film Songs Ever list. The jury was composed of celebrities such as Gulzar, Hariharan, Javed Akhtar, Kumar Sanu and Shantanu Moitra. Each jury member was asked to nominate 10 favorites and the songs the winners were ranked according to the number of votes each song got. "Kal Ho Naa Ho" was ranked at 19 making it the only contemporary selection in the list.[6]

The track was featured in Hindustan Times's "Song of the Century" list, which described the song as "one of the most unforgettable tunes in recent times."[7]

References

  1. "I Don't Want to Sing 'Crap' in Bollywood: Sonu Nigam".
  2. "Shankar Ehsaan Loy still making waves for Kal Ho Na Ho". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved July 1, 2006.
  3. "I have to compliment Himesh. If we have 2 hits a year, he has 20". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved March 24, 2006.
  4. Rajeev, Masand. "To Catch a Star: Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy on music, masti". CNN IBN. Retrieved Mar 31, 2008.
  5. Singh, Brahmanand S. "Pancham unmixed - a documentary about R.D.Burman". Missing or empty |url= (help); |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  6. "20 Best Hindi Film Songs Ever". Outlook. Retrieved June 26, 2006.
  7. "Songs of the Century - Hindustan Times". 2012-08-20. Archived from the original on 2012-08-04. Retrieved 2012-08-20. this song one of the most unforgettable tunes in recent times.
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