Mumbai: Karan Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham completes 20 years of its release December 14 and composer Sandesh Shandilya has reflected on the film’s musical journey.
The film, which marked Johar’s second movie as a director after Kuch Kuch Hota Hai featured Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor Khan.
Apart from its dramatic appeal and emphasis on family values, the film is known for its chartbusting soundtrack which remains popular till date.
Of the many songs in the album, five were composed by Sandesh Shandilya who made his debut with this film. Sandesh composed the tracks ‘Suraj Hua Maddham’, ‘You Are My Soniya’, ‘Deewana Hai Dekho’, ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Soul of K3G’.
Talking about the film completing two decades of its release, Sandesh says: “Being my first film, it will always be very special to me. I had composed for non-film albums like ‘Pyar Ke Geet’ and ‘Piya Basanti’ before ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’. It marked the beginning of my journey into films. As a newcomer, I couldn’t have asked for a better start”.
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham was Sandesh’s first collaboration with Dharma Productions. Being a huge admirer of Jatin-Lalit’s music, he was extremely happy to have got the opportunity of sharing the credits with them on the film. While ‘Suraj Hua Maddham’ was penned by Sandesh’s long-time friend and associate Anil Pandey, ‘You Are My Soniya’ and ‘Deewana Hai Dekho’ had lyrics written by Sameer.
“Karan had already started shooting for the film. He had really liked ‘Suraj Hua Maddham’ which I had played out to him a long time ago and was keen to have it in the film. After that, he gave me the opportunity to compose a few more tracks for the film. As everybody knows, Karan has a very good understanding of music and I feel fortunate to have got the opportunity to work with a director like him. I am also grateful to the late Shri Yash Johar whose blessings played an important role in the way the film shaped up,” he says.
While Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham kickstarted Sandesh’s career, he went on to compose soulful melodies for films like Chameli, Socha Na Tha, Jab We Met, Yamla Pagla Deewana and Rang Rasiya, among others. The composer, who had recently put together the much appreciated soundtrack of Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Shikara, has several exciting projects in the pipeline which shall be announced soon.