Kehna Songs
Eleanor Heidecker
Bombay is the soundtrack to the 1995 Indian film of the same name, with eight tracks composed by A. R. Rahman.[1] The film was directed by Mani Ratnam, and stars Arvind Swamy and Manisha Koirala, while the soundtrack album was released on 24 December 1994 by Pyramid.[2] The Indian film was originally a Tamil film dubbed into Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam. The soundtrack was thus released in multiple languages. The lyrics for the Tamil version were written by Vairamuthu, except for the song "Halla Gulla", which was written by Vaali. The lyrics for the Hindi and Telugu versions were written by Mehboob and Veturi, respectively.
The soundtrack of the film became one of the best-selling Indian music albums of all time, with sales of 15 million units.[3][4] The soundtrack was included in The Guardian's "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die" list,[5] and the Hindi version of the song "Kannalane", titled "Kehna Hi Kya" by K S Chitra was included in their "1000 Songs Everyone Must Hear" list.[6] The song "Hamma" was later reused in Ok Jaanu (2017) as "The Humma Song".[7] "Bombay Theme" has appeared in various international films and music compilations, while "Kannalanae" and "Bombay Theme" have been sampled by various international artists.
Since its release, the soundtrack for Bombay has been influential, both nationally and internationally. The soundtrack also found success across India in its dubbed Hindi and Telugu versions. In 2007, the soundtrack was included in The Guardian's "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die" list,[5] and the Hindi version of the song "Kannalane", titled "Kehna Hi Kya", was included in their "1000 Songs Everyone Must Hear" list in 2009.[5] In 2014, BBC Music listed Bombay among their "20 Greatest Soundtracks" of all time, and selected the instrumental "Bombay Theme" as its standout track.[8]
A. R. Rahman won the Filmfare Best Music Director Award (Tamil) for the soundtrack. Vairamuthu won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Lyricist, and K. S. Chithra won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Female Playback for the song "Kannalane".
"Kannalane", also known as "Kehna Hi Kya", is based on Qawwali, a form of Islamic Sufi music.[9][10] K. S. Chithra won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Female Playback for the song "Kannalane". Backing vocals were sung by A. R. Rahman, Sujatha Mohan, Ganga and Reshmi.
"Kehna Hi Kya", like the other songs on the Hindi soundtrack, was written by Urdu lyricist Mehboob. "Kehna Hi Kya" was included in The Guardian's list of "1000 Songs Everyone Must Hear".[5] The Hindi version of the song was also sampled by Ciara for her 2009 song "Turntables", featuring Chris Brown.
The track "Bombay Theme" is an instrumental orchestral piece composed and arranged by A. R. Rahman. It has been sampled by many artists in the world. The track featured in various compilations and films besides being sampled by many major artists. Major compilation albums on which it appeared include Chakra Seven Centers (1995; in which it was credited as "Ajna Chakra"), Anokha - Soundz of the Asian Underground (1997), Caf del Mar Vol 5 (1998), Ambient Chillout Mix Vol. 1 (2002) and Paradisiac 2 . The track is alternatively credited as "Bombay Theme Tune," "Mumbai Theme Tune" or "Bombay Theme Music" in compilations. It was featured in the Italian film Denti by Gabriele Salvatores in 2000, in the Palestinian film Divine Intervention in 2002, in the 2005 Hollywood film Lord of War,[11] and in Julian Schnabel's Miral (2010).[12][13] Rahman reused the track as "Bombay Theme Intro" in the score of the 1996 film, Fire, by Deepa Mehta. It also appeared on a French TV commercial for Volvic starring Zinedine Zidane in 2000. The theme was also sampled by the German band Lwenherz for their song "Bis in die Ewigkeit",[14] and by the American rapper Lloyd Banks for his song "Rather By Me" (2009).[15]
The track "Uyire"[16] was among the most popular and acclaimed songs of the 1990s. It was sung by Hariharan, who believes it is the best one he has ever sung.[17] After composing the song, Rahman had three choices for the vocalist - S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. J. Yesudas and Hariharan. Rahman says: "I had three options for that song. SPB sir, Yesudas sir, Hariharan. Then I imagined all of them singing it. Since I had not heard Hari in a non-ghazal kind of song, I decided to take the gamble. Then when he did, he had a whole new flavour for the song."[18] The song also incorporates elements of Sufi music.[9]
The female vocals have been provided by K. S. Chithra for Tamil and Telugu, and the Hindi version was sung by Kavita Krishnamurthy. The song was called "Tu Hi Re" in Hindi while it was called "Urike Chilaka" in Telugu. The Hindi version was first sung by K.S.Chithra but music company wanted Hindi singer to sing henceforth it was sung by Kavita Krishnamurthy. The background voice was by Hariharan & Swarnalatha
The Tamil track "Andha Arabic Kadaloram" had two different versions. The original release contained only A. R. Rahman's version; whereas the re-released version contained the rap portions by Remo Fernandes which were recorded for the Hindi dubbed version.
Kya Kehna (English: What to say?/ What can I say?) is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Kundan Shah. It released on 19 May 2000. Kya Kehna dealt with the taboo issue of pre-marital pregnancy and society views on the same, and stars Preity Zinta in the central role as a single teenage mother, with Saif Ali Khan, Chandrachur Singh, Farida Jalal and Anupam Kher in supporting roles. The music was composed by Rajesh Roshan.
Priya Bakshi (Preity Zinta) is the bubbly, free-spirited daughter of Gulshan (Anupam Kher) and Rohini Bakshi (Farida Jalal). Priya's parents, brothers, and best friend, Ajay (Chandrachur Singh) love and support her. Ajay is secretly in love with Priya and wishes to marry her in the future.
Priya enters her first year of university and quickly catches the eye of wealthy playboy Rahul (Saif Ali Khan), who becomes attracted to her. She succumbs to his charm but Ajay and her brother Vicky (Mamik Singh) are unsure about Rahul. His reputation and womanizing ways worry them, and they warn her to stay away from him. However, Priya believes that Rahul is in love with her, and the two begin a relationship and have sex. Priya convinces her parents to meet Rahul, but when they prematurely talk about marriage and the future, he mocks them and leaves Priya. Priya is heartbroken but tries to move on with her life. She later learns that she is pregnant with Rahul's child. Her parents go back to Rahul to talk about marriage once again. He acknowledges that he is the father but still does not want to marry Priya. Rahul's mother also berates Priya's family, believing that they are looking for financial compensation. Priya is faced with a decision, and she chooses to keep the child. Her decision prompts her father to willfully banish her from the house due to the shame, much against the rest of her family's will. Alone and neglected, Priya is devastated. The rest of her family tries to bring her back but her father prevents them from doing so. However, later, her father eventually realises that it's hard to live without her and he agrees with her family to bring her back, supporting her during her pregnancy.
Priya goes back to university, where she is shunned due to her pregnancy and 'spoiled' character. Rahul's mother, who is part of the university's board of directors, tries to convince the other parents that Priya should be expelled due to her character. Ostracised by friends, neighbours, and society, Priya realises Ajay's love and dedication for her.
The university holds a year-end performance, where a group of students perform a play that ridicules and vilifies Priya and her pregnancy. After the play, Priya makes a passionate speech about love, honour, and respect. She tells the audience about how she isn't the only one to blame for her pregnancy, and how she decided to let her baby live and enjoy life. Her words move many in the audience, including Rahul. Her friends apologise to her, and she gains the support of the community. Later, Ajay declares his love for Priya and desires to marry her. However, Priya worries whether Ajay will accept her and her unborn child. Ajay tells her he is fully willing to accept both her and her child as his own. Unknown to Priya and Ajay a remorseful Rahul approaches Priya's family and reveals he is ready to apologise and raise his and Priya's child together to which they agree. Priya water breaks before she can answer Ajay's proposal and she goes to the hospital to give birth, where she's joined by Rahul and her family.
At an event to celebrate the birth of Priya's baby, Rahul proposes to Priya, stating that he is ready for marriage and to raise their child. Ajay wishes them well and begins to walk away. However, Priya rejects Rahul and confesses her love for Ajay, asking him whether he's still willing to accept her and her child, Ajay agrees to this. Rahul accepts Priya's decision, wishes them well, and leaves.
The soundtrack of the film contains 8 songs. The music is given by Rajesh Roshan, with lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri. According to the Indian trade website Box Office India, with around 20,00,000 units sold, this film's soundtrack album was the year's seventh highest-selling. The title song "Kya Kehna" is copied from Neil Sedaka's Single "Oh Carol".[1]
The film was a box office success and emerged as one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films of 2000, and was called a "super hit" by Box Office India.[2] The film's success was unexpected, and it was therefore described as a sleeper hit.[3][4][5]
Vinayak Chakravorty of Hindustan Times gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, writing, "The basic premise of Kya Kehna!, then, definitely had the potential of being a gripping family entertainer. Unfortunately, somewhere down the line, you feel as if most people associated with the film somehow lost interest." He noted, however, Zinta as "the bright spot of the film".[6] Aradhika Sekhon of The Tribune wrote, "The film itself has several flaws but the issues that it tackles are real. The director takes a straight, hard look at the problems of today and holds them up for exhibition. The Indian tendency is to sweep uncomfortable issues under the carpet but if films like Kya Kehna! continue to be made, at least, we'll be forced to confront them."[7] Mimmy Jain of The Indian Express, in a positive review, commended Shah for making "a sensitive film, on a sensitive subject", calling Kya Kehna "a film that should have been made years ago". She further noted Zinta as being "dazzlingly good" in her part.[8]
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