Chhaayaageet #266 - “Yeh kya t-shirt hai! Yeh mujh par blouse jaisi lag rahi hai.”
Look at this t-shirt! It looks like a blouse on me.
The lead actor is on a flight from London heading back to Bombay. He has a smile on his face as he is sitting in his first-class seat. It was a great trip. He connected with his buddy, a singer born and raised in London who has a deep love for Bollywood music. And guess what. His friend gave him a CD featuring one of his latest songs. The lead actor can already see himself lip-syncing and dancing to the tune of this song in an upcoming film.
The lead actor doesn’t waste any time. He reaches Bombay and immediately sets up meetings with various producers and directors.
Lead Actor: “Yeh gaana suniye, ismein kuch alag baat hai.” Listen to this song. There is something special about it. It is the 90s. The melody in the Hindi film industry has just made a comeback now, after the terrible 80s.
The filmmakers are not impressed. “Gaana toh achha hai, par yeh humare yahan nahi chalega. Yeh thoda zyada British pop sa lag raha hai.” The song is good, but it won’t work here. It sounds a bit too much like British pop. He repeatedly hears the same feedback. He keeps trying. But no luck.
6 years pass by.
The lead actor is now preparing for a new film. This time, the filmmaker is his own brother. It’s like a home production. The lead actor knows very well that this is the perfect moment.
Lead Actor: “Ab sahi waqt hai. Hum woh gaana apni film mein istemal karenge.” Now is the right time. We will use that song in our film.
Filmmaker: “Theek hai, agar tumhe lagta hai yeh chalega, toh hum composers aur lyricist se baat karte hain.” Okay, if you think this will work, then we will talk to the composers and the lyricist.
There are three sets of composers and lyricists for this film. No compromise when it comes to music. They know which composer will be well-suited for this song.
They meet with the duo-composers and the lyricist. The lead actor plays the song from the same CD he brought from London. They all love the tune. No changes there. The lyricist feels the words could use an update to match the film. It doesn’t take too long to make those changes. They call the original singer from London. He is already famous back in the UK now since the song was released as a single and has now achieved platinum status. He arrives in Bombay and completes the recording.
Next, the crew meets at Madh Island to shoot the music video. The lead actor is known for his incredible physique. He has spent years in the gym, and that has changed the image of the Bollywood hero. As a result, everyone feels pressured to have muscles these days to succeed as a hero.
On the set, the lead actor tries to put on the t-shirt required during the song. He has recently gained even more muscle due to a strict workout schedule.
The t-shirt clings to his body like it is part of it. Also, it is quite short. His belly button is exposed. “Yeh kya t-shirt hai! Yeh mujh par blouse jaisi lag rahi hai.” Look at this t-shirt! It looks like a blouse on me.
The entire crew is there, ready to shoot. Getting another custom-fitted t-shirt is next to impossible. The filmmaker has signs of worry on his face. "Hamare paas dusri t-shirt laane ka waqt nahi hai. Ab kya karein?" We don't have time to order another t-shirt. What do we do now?
The lead actor is not that worried. He is known to show off his body. “Ek kaam karte hain. Mein bina shirt ke shooting kar leta hoon.” Let’s do one thing. I will shoot the song without a shirt.
The filmmaker is not amused. Even though he is younger than the lead actor, he is worried about the audience. “Bina shirt ke? Pata nahi Indian audience ise kaise dekhegi.” Without a shirt? I don’t know how the Indian audience will react to this.
The elder brother inside the lead actor comes out. “Tu chinta mat kar bhai. Sab theek ho jayega. Log bilkul pasand karenge.” Don’t worry, brother. Everything will be fine. People will absolutely like it.
Kamaal Khan provided the male playback voice for the song O O Jaane Jaana in the film Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya. The music was composed by Jatin-Lalit, and the lyrics were written by Sameer. The film was produced and directed by Sohail Khan, and the lead actor was Salman Khan.
Salman Khan and Kamaal Khan knew each other through their social circles and had struck a deep friendship. On one of his visits, Kamaal Khan gave Salman Khan a recording of the original version of O O Jaane Jaana. Salman Khan loved it and wanted to use it in one of his upcoming films. He faced a lot of resistance from the filmmakers of that era due to the song sounding like British pop. While the Hindi film industry was rejecting the song, it was officially produced and released as an independent single in the UK in 1996. It became a massive hit there, which finally gave Salman Khan the proof of concept he needed to convince his brother, Sohail Khan, to use it in Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya.
This is the original version of the song that Kamaal Khan produced as a single.
The music for Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya was composed by Jatin–Lalit, Himesh Reshammiya, and Sajid–Wajid. The lyrics for all tracks by Jatin–Lalit were written by Sameer, the lyrics for Himesh Reshammiya’s tracks were written by Sudhakar Sharma, and the lyrics for Sajid–Wajid’s track was written by Iqbal Sabri. For the fast-paced song O O Jaane Jaana, Sohail and Salman Khan decided to go with Jatin-Lalit and Sameer.
There was also a wardrobe malfunction incident during the shoot when the t-shirt, which was custom-made for Salman Khan, did not fit him. With no quick alternative, Salman Khan convinced Sohail Khan that he should go shirtless. Thus started the era of Salman Khan, where he would appear shirtless frequently in his subsequent films and concerts.
At the 44th Filmfare Awards, Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya received seven nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (Sohail Khan), Best Actor (Salman Khan), and Best Supporting Actor (Arbaaz Khan). Kamaal Khan won the RD Burman Award for New Music Talent for O O Jaane Jaana.
Singer: Kamaal Khan
Music: Jatin-Lalit
Lyrics: Sameer
*ing: Salman Khan
Producer/Director: Sohail Khan
Film: Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya (1998)