''Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'' () also known as ''KKHH'' or ''K2H2'', is a 1998 Indian
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
-language
musical romance film
Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...
written and directed by
Karan Johar and produced under
Dharma Productions
Dharma Productions Pvt. Ltd., commonly known and doing business as Dharma Productions, is an Indian film production and distribution company established by Yash Johar in 1979. It was taken over in 2004, after his death, by his son, Karan Joh ...
. It stars the popular on-screen pair of
Shah Rukh Khan and
Kajol in lead roles, along with
Rani Mukerji and
Salman Khan
Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...
. It also features
Sana Saeed
Sana Saeed (born 22 September 1988) is an Indian actress and model, who appears in Bollywood films and Indian television. Her first appearance was as a child artist in '' Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'' (1998) and continued to do so in films like '' Har D ...
in a supporting role. The plot combines two love triangles set years apart. The first half covers friends on a college campus, while the second tells the story of a widower's young daughter who tries to reunite her dad with his old best friend.
Filmed in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...
and
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, this was Johar's directorial debut. One of his goals for the film was to set a new level for style in
Hindi cinema. The music was composed by
Jatin–Lalit
Jatin–Lalit are an Indian film music director duo consisting of Jatin Pandit and his brother Lalit Pandit. They have written the widely popular scores for films such as '' Yaara Dildara'', '' Khiladi'', ''Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar'', ''Kabhi Ha ...
, which was the biggest seller of the year. ''Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'' was released on 16 October 1998, in India and
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and received positive reviews from critics who praised the setting, music, direction,
cinematography
Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography.
Cinematographers use a lens to foc ...
, screenplay, performances and overall presentation. The film was successful in India and abroad, becoming the highest-grossing Indian film of the year and the third highest-grossing Indian film at that time. Outside India, the film was the highest-grossing Hindi film ever until its record was broken by Karan Johar's next directorial, ''
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...'' (2001).
The film received various accolades, including the
and Best Film at the
Filmfare Awards,
Screen Awards
The Screen Awards is an annual awards ceremony held in India honouring professional excellence in Bollywood. The nomination and award selection is done by a panel of distinguished professionals from the industry. The awards were introduced by t ...
,
Zee Cine Awards
The Zee Cine Award (ZCA) is an Indian awards ceremony for the Hindi film industry. They were instituted in November 1997 to award "Excellence in cinema - the democratic way".
They were first held in Mumbai until 2004, when the ZCA went internat ...
and
Bollywood Movie Awards
The Bollywood Movie Awards was an annual film award ceremony held between 1999 and 2007 in Long Island, New York, United States, celebrating films and actors from the Bollywood film industry based in Mumbai, India.
History
The predecessor to ...
. ''Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'' won 8 Filmfare Awards and was the only film to win all four acting awards (Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress) until ''
Gully Boy
''Gully Boy'' is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film directed by Zoya Akhtar, and written by Akhtar and Reema Kagti. The film was produced by Ritesh Sidhwani, Akhtar and Farhan Akhtar under the banners of Tiger Baby Films and Excel ...
'' (2019).
Plot
Rahul Khanna and Anjali Sharma are best friends in
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
who frequently spend time together and play
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
. Anjali Sharma, a
tomboy
A tomboy is a term for a girl or a young woman with masculine qualities. It can include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and actively engage in physical sports or other activities and behaviors usually associated with boys or men. W ...
, is much better at the game than Rahul who wins occasionally by cheating. Their friendship is tested by the arrival of Tina Malhotra, the attractive daughter of college principal Ravikant Malhotra who has come from
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. Rahul is immediately smitten and starts
hazing her as a means to grab attention. The two grow attracted to each other, leading Anjali Sharma to feel jealous and lonely. She realizes she is in love with Rahul and cannot stand seeing him get closer to Tina. Matters get worse, when Rahul admits to Anjali that he loves Tina, on the day Anjali decides to confess her love for Rahul, leaving her heartbroken. She changes colleges, leaves town, and breaks off all ties with Rahul. After college, Rahul marries Tina and they are blessed with a daughter who is also named Anjali. Unfortunately, Tina dies due to the delivery complications but not before writing eight letters for Anjali Khanna to read on her subsequent birthdays.
Eight years later, widower Rahul is shown as a
single parent
A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include divorce, break-up, abandonment, becoming wid ...
to his 8-year-old daughter Anjali Khanna. On her birthday, Tina's eighth letter introduces Anjali Khanna to Rahul's college friend by the same name. In the letter, Tina asks Anjali Khanna to reunite Rahul with Anjali Sharma, having always been aware of her feelings for Rahul. At a camp for children in
Shimla
Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, the ...
, Anjali Sharma is a facilitator who teaches music and dance. Against Rahul, Anjali Khanna enrolls in the camp and goes to Shimla along with Rahul's mother Savita Khanna. Over there, she meets her namesake for the first time and tricks Rahul into visiting the camp, reuniting him with Anjali Sharma after many years. Using her mother's descriptions of their college days in the letter, Anjali Khanna recreates familiar situations that enable Rahul and Anjali Sharma to rekindle their friendship. They eventually find love again with each other, but this time, are interrupted by the arrival of Anjali Sharma's fiancé Aman Mehra. Finally snapping back to reality, Anjali Sharma leaves the camp midway to return home and marry Aman.
On the day of the wedding, Anjali Khanna lets Aman know of her mother's letter and her quest to unite Rahul with Anjali Sharma. Meanwhile, Rahul stumbles into Anjali Sharma at an upstairs balcony and finally expresses his love for her. At the wedding hall downstairs, Aman and the guests are awaiting Anjali Sharma to make her way to the wedding alter for the final ritual. She walks down the stairs but stops after seeing Rahul. Aman, realizing that Anjali Sharma will always be in love with Rahul, calls off their engagement. He asks Rahul to marry her in his stead, joining in the celebration. Rahul and Anjali Sharma are finally united and Anjali Khanna is beset with emotion at having fulfilled Tina's last wish expressed in her letter.
Cast
*
Shah Rukh Khan as Rahul Khanna
*
Kajol as Anjali Sharma
*
Rani Mukerji as Tina Malhotra
*
Salman Khan
Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...
as Aman Mehra
*
Sana Saeed
Sana Saeed (born 22 September 1988) is an Indian actress and model, who appears in Bollywood films and Indian television. Her first appearance was as a child artist in '' Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'' (1998) and continued to do so in films like '' Har D ...
as Anjali Khanna
*
Farida Jalal
Farida Jalal (born Farida Sami; 18 May 1950) is an Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi films. In a film career spanning almost fifty years, Jalal appeared in over 200 films. Best known for her character-driven roles in independent cin ...
as Savita Devi
*
Anupam Kher as Ravikant Malhotra
*
Reema Lagoo
Reema Lagoo (born Nayan Bhadbhade; 21 June 1958 – 18 May 2017) was an Indian theatre and screen actress known for her work in Hindi and Marathi cinema. She began her acting career in the Marathi theatre, after which she became a household nam ...
as Ramnika Sharma
*
Archana Puran Singh as Ms. Braganza
*
Himani Shivpuri as Rifat Qazi
*
Johnny Lever
Johnny Lever (born John Prakash Rao Janumala; 14 August 1957) is an Indian actor and popular comedian who is known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is one of the first stand-up comedians in India. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, in ...
as Colonel Almeida
*
Parzan Dastur
Parzaan Dastur is an Indian actor and writer. He is best remembered as the cute kid in the Dhara advertisement and the silent Sikh kid in ''Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'' by many Indians.
Early life
Parzaan is an alumnus of Balvantray Mehta Vidya Bhaw ...
as Jasdeep Singh
*
Neelam Kothari
Neelam Kothari Soni is an Indian actress and jewellery designer from Mumbai, known mononymously as Neelam. She made her acting debut with '' Jawaani'' (1984) opposite debutant Karan Shah. Since then she starred in various films alongside Govind ...
as Neelam Sharma (special appearance)
*
Nikkhil Advani in Neelam's talk show segment (special appearance)
*
Manish Malhotra
Manish Malhotra (born December 5 1966) is an Indian fashion designer, couturier, costume stylist, entrepreneur, filmmaker, revivalist based in Mumbai, India.
The founder of the eponymous label, Manish Malhotra, he has been deeply entrenched in ...
as a college student sitting on the steps of college when Anjali Sharma wears feminine clothing (special appearance)
*
Farah Khan
Farah Khan Kunder (born 9 January 1965) is an Indian film director, film producer, actress, dancer and choreographer who works predominantly in Hindi films. Khan has choreographed dance routines for more than a hundred songs in over 80 films, w ...
in Neelam's talk show and sitting on the steps of college when Anjali wears feminine clothing (special appearance)
*
Geeta Kapoor
Geeta Kapoor is an Indian choreographer and television personality. Currently she is judging “India’s Best Dancer”, a dance reality show on Sony TV along with Malaika Arora and Terence Lewis.
Career
Kapoor started her career when she join ...
in the song "Tujhe Yaad Na Meri Aayee" (special appearance)
* Hiroo Johar as Professor Madhavi Goenka, walking down the steps of college when Anjali wears feminine clothing (special appearance)
Production
Story
After the experience of assisting and acting in
Aditya Chopra
Aditya Chopra (; born 21 May 1971) is an Indian filmmaker, studio executive, producer and film distributor who mainly works in Indian cinema. Currently serving as the Chairman and Managing Director of Yash Raj Films, founded by his father Ya ...
's directorial debut, the romantic drama ''
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'' (1995), Karan Johar was encouraged to try his own hand at directing. With ''Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'', he chose to pair up the same lead actors, Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, for his own romance film. During the filming of ''Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'', Khan had also encouraged Johar to make his own film, and said that he would be willing to star in it.
They were signed by producer and his father
Yash Johar
Yash Johar (6 September 1929 – 26 June 2004) was an Indian film producer and the founder of Dharma Productions. His films featured lavish sets, were often set in "exotic" locations, and incorporated Indian traditions and family values. H ...
in early 1997. Yash Johar officially announced the film in October 1997 at
Mehboob Studios
Mehboob Studio is an Indian film studio and recording studio in Bandra (W), Mumbai, founded in 1954 by director and producer Mehboob Khan, who previously owned Mehboob Productions (founded 1942), and is most known for films such as ''Mother Indi ...
in
Bandra.
Johar first wrote a story, which was a love triangle between a tomboy, a very pretty girl, and a slightly insensitive boy, but he shelved the idea because he was not very satisfied with it. Then he wrote another plot about a widower and his child, which he shelved as well. Eventually, he decided to merge the two stories into one. He explained in an interview with ''
Rediff.com
Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City.
, it had more than 300 e ...
'': "It was about the trauma of a widower and his little child. How the child really wants a mother and how she brings her mother into her father's life. Then I thought: Why not bring a youth aspect to the story? Why not a flashback? That's how the story got made."
[ The story also includes a "personal desires vs. parental loyalties" theme and has some "East meets West" themes, but instead of the characters going abroad, it creates a virtual West inside India.]
Development
Karan Johar was certain from the beginning that he wanted to cast Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role, having observed him during the making of ''Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge''. It took longer to fill the role of Tina. The role was written with Twinkle Khanna
Twinkle Khanna (also known as Tina Jatin Khanna; born on 29 December) is an Indian author, columnist, interior designer, film producer and a former film actress.
In 2015, she released her first non-fiction book, " Mrs Funnybones" which was decl ...
in mind, but she turned it down.[ Other actresses such as ]Urmila Matondkar
Urmila Matondkar (born 4 February 1974) is an Indian actress and politician. Known for her work primarily in Hindi films, in addition to Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Tamil films, she has received numerous accolades, including the Filmfar ...
, Tabu
Tabu may refer to:
Cultural and legal concepts
*Taboo (spelled ''tabu'' in earlier historical records), something that is unacceptable in society
*Tapu (Polynesian culture) (also spelled ''tabu''), a Polynesian cultural concept from which the wor ...
, Shilpa Shetty
Shilpa Shetty Kundra (born Ashwini Shetty; Née Shetty; 8 June 1975) is an Indian actress who works mainly in Hindi-language films. Shetty made her screen debut in the thriller ''Baazigar'' (1993) which garnered her nominations for two Filmfa ...
, Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan ( Rai; born 1 November 1973) is an Indian actress who is primarily known for her work in Hindi and Tamil films. The winner of the Miss World 1994 pageant, she has established herself as one of the most popular celebriti ...
, Raveena Tandon
Raveena Tandon (born 26 October 1972) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. The daughter of director Ravi Tandon, she made her acting debut in the 1991 action film '' Patthar Ke Phool'', which won her the Filmfare Award for New Face ...
and Karisma Kapoor
Karisma Kapoor (born 25 June 1974) is an Indian actress, who works in Hindi films. A member of the Kapoor family, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a National Film Award and four Filmfare Awards.
Kapoor made her acting d ...
were offered the role but also turned it down. Aditya Chopra and Shah Rukh Khan noticed Rani Mukerji's acting in ''Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat
''Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat'' () is a 1996 Indian Hindi-language drama film written and directed by Ashok Gaikwad.
The film marked the Hindi film debut of actress Rani Mukerji. Starting in 1995, principal photography took place in Gangtok and wa ...
'' (1996), and suggested her to Karan Johar. He thus signed her, giving a boost to her career. Saif Ali Khan
Saif Ali Khan (; born Sajid Ali Khan Pataudi; 16 August 1970) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi films. Part of the Pataudi family, he is the son of actress Sharmila Tagore and cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi.
Khan ...
and Chandrachur Singh
Chandrachur Singh (born 11 October 1968) is an Indian actor, who mainly works in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of a Filmfare Award, in addition to receiving nomination for an IIFA Award and a Screen Award.
Early life and career
Singh att ...
were initially offered the role of Aman, but they both turned it down, thus prompting Johar to rope in Salman Khan.[
Johar, who is also a ]costume designer
A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costume ...
, wanted to set a new level for style in Hindi cinema with this film. He and his friend Manish Malhotra
Manish Malhotra (born December 5 1966) is an Indian fashion designer, couturier, costume stylist, entrepreneur, filmmaker, revivalist based in Mumbai, India.
The founder of the eponymous label, Manish Malhotra, he has been deeply entrenched in ...
, the film's costume designer, made trips to London for costumes, much to the chagrin of his father and producer Yash Johar, who was concerned about the budget. Many of the costumes in the film prominently displayed logos from designers such as DKNY
DKNY is a New York City–based fashion house for men and women, founded in 1984 by Donna Karan.
History
Karan worked for 15 years at Anne Klein, including 10 as its head designer. In 1984 Karan and her late husband Stephan Weiss were offered t ...
and Polo. In addition to the designer fashions, Johar also created a somewhat fantastical world where the students speak Hinglish and enjoy a pristine college campus, where there is no crime or hate, and traditional Hindu values are pervasive.[ Johar admitted that the look and feel of the college scenes in the film were patterned after '' Beverly Hills 90210'', saying, "The art, the costumes, tilt toward the West, but the soul of the film is Indian." He hired Sharmishta Roy as art director, and told her to produce something similar to Riverdale High School of the Archie Comics, with some ''90210'' influence as well. Johar said of the outcome, "If you see ''KKHH'', Shahrukh plays Archie, Rani Mukherji plays Veronica, and Kajol played ]Betty
Betty or Bettie is a name, a common diminutive for the names Bethany and Elizabeth. In Latin America, it is also a common diminutive for the given name Beatriz, the Spanish and Portuguese form of the Latin name Beatrix and the English name Beat ...
. It was exactly that. And the principal looked like Weatherbee, and Ms. Grundy was Archana Puran Singh." Johar also hired Farah Khan
Farah Khan Kunder (born 9 January 1965) is an Indian film director, film producer, actress, dancer and choreographer who works predominantly in Hindi films. Khan has choreographed dance routines for more than a hundred songs in over 80 films, w ...
to do the choreography, Jatin–Lalit
Jatin–Lalit are an Indian film music director duo consisting of Jatin Pandit and his brother Lalit Pandit. They have written the widely popular scores for films such as '' Yaara Dildara'', '' Khiladi'', ''Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar'', ''Kabhi Ha ...
to provide the music, Santosh Thundiyil
Santosh Thundiyil is an Indian cinematographer. He is best known for films like '' Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'' (1998), '' Devadoothan'' (2000), ''Krrish'' (2006), '' Pinjar'' (2003), ''Rowdy Rathore'' (2012) and '' Jai Ho'' (2014).
Early life and edu ...
as cinematographer, and Nikhil Advani
Nikhil Suresh Advani (born 28 April 1971) is an Indian film and television director, writer and producer who works in Hindi cinema. He along with his sister, Monisha Advani and Madhu Bhojwani, co-founded the entertainment company Emmay Entert ...
as his associate director. Shabina Khan assisted Manish Malhotra with costume design.
Filming
Filming began on 21 October 1997. The crew was young and inexperienced to the point where Shah Rukh Khan had to explain basic technicalities of filming. Khan later said, "Karan makes no bones of the fact that his technical knowledge of filmmaking was not at its peak when he made the biggest hit of the decade." The entire film was shot in nine and half months[ with a substantial part of it shot in ]Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...
. The title song was filmed over a ten-day period. in several picturesque locations in Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, including Eilean Donan
Eilean Donan ( gd, Eilean Donnain) is a small tidal island situated at the confluence of three sea lochs ( Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh) in the western Highlands of Scotland, about from the village of Dornie. It is connected to the ma ...
, Glen Coe
Glen Coe ( gd, Gleann Comhann ) is a glen of volcanic origins, in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies in the north of the county of Argyll, close to the border with the historic province of Lochaber, within the modern council area of Highland ...
, Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of C ...
and Tantallon Castle with the nearby Bass Rock
The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass (), ( gd, Creag nam Bathais or gd, Am Bas) is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately offshore, and north-east of North Berwick, it is a steep-sided volca ...
as a backdrop in one scene. The scenes from the summer camp in Shimla were filmed at Wenlock Downs in Ooty, Tamil Nadu.
During the bicycle sequence in the song "Yeh Ladka Hai Deewana", Kajol lost control of her bike, fell flat on her face, and was knocked unconscious while also injuring her knee. During the promotional ''Making of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'' TV special, Kajol stated that the accident was her most memorable part of shooting the film because she doesn't remember it. During preparation for the reunion scene where the two leads met after more than 8 years apart, the director told them to improvise and rehearse the reactions that they might use, but he secretly taped them and was so happy with the result that it was put into the film.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for ''Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'' was composed by Jatin–Lalit
Jatin–Lalit are an Indian film music director duo consisting of Jatin Pandit and his brother Lalit Pandit. They have written the widely popular scores for films such as '' Yaara Dildara'', '' Khiladi'', ''Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar'', ''Kabhi Ha ...
and the lyrics were penned by Sameer
Samir (variantly spelled Sameer) is a male name found commonly in the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe. In Arabic, Samir () means holy, jovial, loyal or charming. In Albanian, it translates literally as “so good” but the connotation is clo ...
. This is the first collaboration of the duo with Karan Johar. It was released by the Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainme ...
label on 12 August 1998. While the film was still untitled, Javed Akhtar was signed to write the lyrics, and even wrote and recorded one song(koi mil gaya). However, when the movie was titled ''Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'', he found the title mediocre, obscene, and vulgar and decided to quit the project. Akhtar later regretted leaving the film, as he found it decent and could see that the title has become quite a buzzword, realizing that he was the only one who disliked the title.
The album became the best-selling Bollywood soundtrack
Hindi film songs, more formally known as Hindi Geet or filmi songs and informally known as Bollywood music, are songs featured in Hindi films. Derived from the song-and-dance routines common in Indian films, Bollywood songs, along with da ...
of the year, with units sold in India. The title song remained on the Indian music charts for over a year, and the album peaked at number #2 on the Malaysian albums chart ( RIM) in 1999. Sony Music Indonesia
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...
also sold 300,000 copies in Indonesia, for a combined copies sold in India and Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
.
Mukul Deshpande of ''Planet Bollywood'' rated the soundtrack 8.5 out of 10 stars, although he did not like all of the songs. In 2012, it was voted as the most popular film song of the previous decade by ''NDTV
New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. The company is considered to be a legacy brand that pioneered independent news broadcasting in India, and is credited for launching t ...
''. The full soundtrack came in second place in a similar poll conducted by the ''BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'', an album which was also composed by Jatin–Lalit.
On 2002, Sony Music India also released Kuch Kuch Hota Hai in Telugu version.
'' gave ''Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'' 3.5 out of 5 stars. She especially liked the performance of Kajol, and thought that the film would appeal to young and romantic viewers primarily for its "MTV ambience" and "Valentine's Day flavours". On the negative side, she said "The second half, however, gets drowned in a sea of emotions. Too many people begin to cry a bit too much." Anish Khanna of ''Planet Bollywood'' rated the film 9.5 out of 10 stars, calling it "pure escapist cinema at its best." He praised the cinematography, choreography, set decoration, and also raved over Kajol's performance, along with her onscreen chemistry with Shah Rukh Khan. Overall, he said, "Karan Johar makes an impressive directorial debut, has a good script sense, and knows how to make a film with S-T-Y-L-E."
In contrast to these views, the reaction of Sujata C J, writing for ''Rediff.com'', was that the film was very disappointing, with many cliches and a bad storyline, though Santosh Thundiyil and Sharmishta Roy were praised for their camerawork and art direction, respectively. Nandita Chowdhury in a review for ''India Today'', said that Karan Johar was almost able to rekindle the Khan-Kajol magic of ''Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'', and that overall the film was "a good distraction".