Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (Never Say Good Bye) is 2006 Bollywood musical romantic drama, directed by Karan Johar and produced under the Dharma Productions banner. Released on 11 August 2006 in India and North America, it stars Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukherji, Abhishek Bachchan and Preity Zinta, with Amitabh Bachchan and Kirron Kher in supporting roles. Arjun Rampal also makes a special appearance in the film.

Directed by Karan Johar

Produced by Hiroo Yash Johar Karan Johar

Written by Karan Johar Shibani Bathija Niranjan Iyengar

Starring Amitabh Bachchan Shah Rukh Khan Abhishek Bachchan Rani Mukherji Preity Zinta Kirron Kher

Narrated by Shah Rukh Khan

Music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy

Cinematography Anil Mehta

Edited by Sanjay Sankla

Production company Dharma Productions

Distributed by Dharma Productions Yash Raj Films

Release date 11 August 2006

Running time 192 minutes

Country India Language Hindi English

Budget ₹50 crore

Box office ₹113 crore

Set and mostly taking place in New York City, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna explores themes of adultery and extramarital affairs. Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna was promoted with the tag-line, "A Love.... That Broke All Relationships". It was a success internationally especially in the United States. It became the highest grossing Indian film of all time overseas at the time of its release. The film was screened in over 1,200 cinemas worldwide, grossing a worldwide total of ₹1.13 billion(US$18 million).

It was screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival. The script received recognition by a number of critics and was invited to be included in the library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Cast

Amitabh Bachchan as Samarjit "Sam" Talwar

Shah Rukh Khan as Dev Saran

Abhishek Bachchan as Rishi Talwar

Rani Mukherji as Maya Talwar

Preity Zinta as Rhea Saran

Kirron Kher as Kamaljit "Kamal" Saran

Ahsaas Channa as Arjun Saran, Dev and Rhea's son

Arjun Rampal as Jai, Rhea's boss

Kajol in the song "Rock 'N' Roll Soniye"

John Abraham as DJ in the song "Where's The Party Tonight?"

Riteish Deshmukh as Mr. Narang, Maya's boss (Deleted Scene)

Karan Johar as Train passenger in a special appearance

Soundtrack

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
Soundtrack album by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Released 12 June 2006 (UK)
16 June 2006 (India)
Genre Feature film soundtrack
Length 42:07
Label Sony BMG
Producer Mayank-Kaustubh

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy chronology
Dil Jo Bhi Kahey...
(2005)
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
(2006)
Don - The Chase Begins Again
(2006)

The music and background score of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna was composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy while the lyrics were penned by Javed Akhtar and the soundtrack was released on 16 June 2006 by Sony BMG in India.

Development

This is the second time that lyricist Javed Akhtar and the composers Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy have teamed up for a Dharma production. The title song Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehnarendered by Sonu Nigam and Alka Yagnik is a tearjerker. Mitwa, an evocative sufi rockballad, marked the introduction of Pakistani singer Shafqat Amanat Ali into the Bollywood scene. Rock 'N' Roll Soniye, picturized on Amitabh, Abhishek and Preity is a 60's Rock 'N' Roll track, sung by Shankar Mahadevan, Shaan and Mahalakshmi Iyer. Then follows Tumhi Dekho Naa, a soft and romantic ballad, which again is sung by the Sonu Nigam - Alka Yagnik duo, is picturised on Shahrukh and Rani. Where's The Party Tonight? by Shaan, Vasundhara Das, Loy and Shankar Mahadevan is the club song picturized on Abhishek and Preity. Farewell Trance is the trance version of the title track, which is a rarity in Bollywood. The album also has a remix-Mitwa-Revisted. The sound track ends with a sad version of the title track, "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - Sad Version" which speaks of destiny, meeting again in life and never saying good bye.

The trio took care to not make the album sound repetitive, especially since the overall genre of the soundtrack is similar to that of their previous chartbuster Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003).

Release

The music of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna was launched in the United Kingdom on 12 June 2006 and was officially released in India on 16 June 2006 along with a grand music launch at the IIFA Awards function in Dubai.

Track list

Track #SongSinger(s)DurationPicturised on
1"Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna"Sonu Nigam, Alka Yagnik 8:07 Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukherji, Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta
2"Mitwa"Shafqat Amanat Ali, Caralisa Monteiro, Shankar Mahadevan 6:26 Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukherji
3"Rock 'N' Roll Soniye"Shankar Mahadevan, Shaan, Mahalakshmi Iyer 5:44 Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukherji, Kirron Kher, Kajol
4"Tumhi Dekho Naa"Sonu Nigam, Alka Yagnik 5:50 Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukherji
5"Where's The Party Tonight?"Shaan, Vasundhara Das, Loy Mendonsa, Shankar Mahadevan 6:21 Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta, John Abraham.
6"Mitwa - Revisted"Shafqat Amanat Ali, Caralisa Monteiro, Shankar Mahadevan 5:35 (Remixed version of "Mitwa")
7"Farewell Trance"Shweta Pandit, Caralisa Monteiro 5:47 (Instrumental with vocals)
8"Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna - Sad Version"Sonu Nigam, Alka Yagnik 2:06 Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukherji

Reception

Though there were a few negative buzz around earlier at London where the music released, the overall reaction to the album was positive from all the mainstream critics. Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama dismissed those initial negative reaction, saying "Much before the official release of the music album of KANK, rumour brigade has been having a field day in pulling down the album. Well, that's not something new as with every biggie comes its share of detractors. But on hearing the songs for yourself, you realize that is it NOTHING, but a rumour! The album is yet another fine product from the team that delivers the kind of path-breaking music expected from it." Sukanya Verma of Rediff called the album " a treat for the melody-starved.".

Sales and Chart performance

The album opened at #1 and retained the top position in the music charts for ten straight weeks, despite facing tough competition from musical hits like Fanaa, Krrish and Gangster.
According to the figures from BoxOffice India, the album sold over 1,900,000 copies in India making it the second best selling album of the year, marginally behind Dhoom 2.