The Different Versions of Kabhi Kabhie (Ft. Sahir Ludhianvi, Amitabh Bacchan, Mukesh and Bally Sagoo)

Two romantics met, came and conquered Bombay's silver screen: Yash Chopra and Sahir Ludhianvi. While Chopra weaved cinematic romance for generations to model, Ludhianvi wrote intellectual poetry balancing the euphoric highs of romance with the gloomy ebbs of life's realities.
Sahir wrote lyrics for all Yash Chopra films (till he died in 1980). Such a successful pair meets once a blue moon, or as Sahir's memorable ghazal goes: Kabhi kabhi.
"kabhi kabhi mere dil mein Khayal aata hai
ki zindagi teri zulfon ki narm chhanw mein
guzarne pati to shadab ho bhi sakti thi
ye tirgi jo meri zist ka muqaddar hai
teri nazar ki shuaon mein kho bhi sakti thi"
"Sometimes, the heart whims
That life could have bloomed
Basking in the silken shade of your hair
And you would vanquish all the darkness and gloom
That life fates for me..."
Sahir wrote this ghazal in 1943 and compiled it in his first published work, Talkhiyan (Bitterness). Yash Chopra read it one day and decided to make the eponymous film featuring generational romance, with the ghazal as a central and recurring motif. And who could better recite it than Bachchan, who played the poet protagonist of the film.
There was a problem, though. The words were a bit complex for mainstream Bollywood. And thus, "ye tirgi jo meri zist ka muqaddar hai" became "ye ranj-o-gham ki siyahi jo dil pe chhayi hai" (These sorrows that blot my heart).
Some other stanzas also did not make it to the final soundtrack cut. But the title track, nevertheless, emerged widely popular in the Binaca Geetmala in 1976. It became Mukesh's swan song (winning him a posthumous Filmfare), garnered Khayyam his first Filmfare for Best Music, gave listeners a memorable Mukesh-Lata duet, and served as another feather in the cap of Bachchan's baritone recitations.
20 years later, in 1996, record-producer Bally Sagoo revamped the song with Bachchan in his album Aby Baby. "Kabhi Kabhie" retained its popularity.
The song's legacy apart, did you know that Sahir Ludhianvi himself, outside of the film, recorded a version of him reciting the original verses of his ghazal?
Read more: What Makes Hum Kissi Se Kum Nahin: A Super-Trouper Soundtrack
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