Kuch Kuch Hota Hai led by Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, and Rani Mukerji was a blockbuster. The film also had a cracker album, that to date is a go-to for Bollywood buffs.
Initially, Javed Akhtar was approached to be the lyricist for the film’s songs. On his refusal, Sameer Anjaan was onboarded who is credited for the love anthem at that time—the title track of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.
Opening up about his experience, Sameer Anjan recently told Lallantop, “Javed sahab was supposed to write the songs for this film. However, he quit the movie because he didn’t like the title of the film. He asked Karan Johar to change the title and then only he would work on it because he liked the story but didn’t like the title at all.”
When someone from the audience asked Sameer about his reaction to Javed Akhtar’s remark, he said, “I never found any vulgarity in it. Main young tha aur mujhe usme kuch vulgar laga hi nahi. Mujhe baad me pata laga ki Javed Saab ka ye khayal tha ki, ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai koi title hai?’ Jab mai likhne baitha, tab mai young tha, aur uss pyaar ke ehsaas mai dooba hua tha, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai kab hota hai? Jab aap pyaar mein hote hain (I was young and I didn’t find anything vulgar in the title. I got to know that Javed Sahab didn’t approve of the title much later. When I started writing, I was imagining how one feels when they are in love).”
Sameer added that if the director had picked that title, he must have thought through it. He also said that there must be a story behind the title and hence it was finalised.
Sameer further revealed how he wanted to bring in the magic of Javed Akhtar’s poetry into the lyrics for Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. However, Karan Johar was not happy about it.
Sameer shared, “When I was offered to write the songs, I thought that because this film went to Javed Sahab first, I should add in some shayari so that Karan is impressed. However, as soon as I narrated a paragraph, he got angry suddenly, and I got the opposite reaction.”
Sameer added, “He said that I called you because you are young and this is a story of college-going students, I want the style that you write, absolutely simple. He didn’t want shayari at all. When I went with the second attempt, I told him that this looked very simple, whether people would like it or not. Karan was confident and he reassured me that I shouldn’t stress. He got what he wanted, there is no need to make it good, better, best.”
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai made fans fall all the more in love with the iconic onscreen pairing of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. Rani Mukerji gained overnight fame, while Salman Khan’s cameo was much appreciated.
