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Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! is the soundtrack album to the 1994 film of the same name directed by Sooraj Barjatya and produced by Rajshri Productions, starring Madhuri Dixit and Salman Khan. The album featured 14 songs composed by Raamlaxman with lyrics written by Dev Kohli and Ravinder Rawal. The soundtrack, released under HMV label, became the second highest selling Bollywood soundtracks of all time. It was one of the most popular soundtracks in Bollywood, with all its musical numbers being featured in several Indian wedding ceremonies. The song "Didi Tera Devar Deewana" became one of the most popular Hindi film songs.

Background

While developing the screenplay for Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, Sooraj used musical numbers to avoid treating the situations in a cliched manner. Raamlaxman, who had previously worked with Rajshri's Maine Pyar Kiya (1989) that was also directed by Sooraj and starred Salman, had confirmed his involvement during the film's production on 2 July 1992 with a song composition for the muhurat ceremony. He had about 50 sessions with Sooraj while scripting. He had composed 15 tunes and recorded them within a span of three months. During the script narration, he would play those tunes for the cast members and would even sing them, if not recorded, so that the cast would perform accordingly.

When the film was ready, Sooraj received criticisms from industry members at a private screening, describing that the film had too many songs that increased the length. Despite Sooraj's initial reluctance, 10 days after the film's release, he agreed to edit the songs "Chocolate Lime Juice" and "Mujhse Juda Hokar" and a couple of stanzas from another song. The reception in the central and southern parts of India, particularly in Dehradun, Gandhinagar and Nizamabad, Telangana, prompted Sooraj to restore those songs in its entirety, with the new prints.

The song "Didi Tera Devar Deewana" is said to be inspired by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's song "Saare Nabian". When the film was released in Pakistan, the words "Hai Raam" were omitted from the lyrics due to religious sentiments. Lata Mangeshkar, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan, Shailendra Singh and Sharda Sinha recorded the vocals for the songs. Mangeshkar, who had been selective on recording songs for films in the 1990s, had performed for 10 songs in the album.

The digital release of the album had 14 songs—excluding the sad version of "Mujhse Juda Hokar" and "Hasta Hua Noorani Chehra" from the film Parasmani (1963), that was used when the characters play a game.

Sales and records

The film's soundtrack achieved significant commercial success, and the song "Didi Tera Devar Deewana" becoming one of the popular film songs ever, topping various charts on radio stations and music television shows. Within two months, the album sold around 30 million cassette tapes, bringing sales of ₹11.7 crore (US$1.4 million). It was the highest-selling Bollywood soundtracks of the year, and the second-best selling soundtracks of the 1990s and all time, with around 10–12 million units being sold.

Legal issues

Gulshan Kumar sold pirated copies of the soundtrack under the Super Cassettes Industries label and logo. In 1995, the Gramophone Company of India filed a lawsuit against Super Cassettes Industries for distributing unofficial audio cassettes and packaging it with the same cover sleeve of Gramaphone Co. India's publishings. The Delhi High Court ruled in favour of Gramaphone Co. India, restraining Super Cassettes Industries to use the same packaging as the album's original version.

Accolades

Lata Mangeshkar, who had retired from accepting awards, had received the Filmfare Special Award in public demand after the success of "Didi Tera Devar Deewana".

Track listing

Notes

1. The label's name being changed to Saregama, which distributes cassettes, CDs and vinyl LPs under this name since 2000s.
2. Currently operating under T-Series.
3. Parent company of HMV-Saregama labels.

References

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11. Anupama Chandra (31 October 1994). "Music mania – Bollywood hinges on Hindi film music industry, fans soak up wacky new sounds". India Today. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
12. Anupama Chandra (31 October 1994). "Music mania – Bollywood hinges on Hindi film music industry, fans soak up wacky new sounds". India Today. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
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15. ^ Copyright Enforcement in India: Issues and Challenges. Saraswati House Pvt Ltd. 2008. p. 226. ISBN 978-8190644594.
16. Dawar, Ramesh (2006). Bollywood: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow. Star Publications. p. 72. ISBN 9781905863013. Archived from the original on 12 February 2018.
17. Mankad, Himesh (23 April 2016). "#CatchFlashBack: Hum Aapke Hain Koun was so huge that these facts will blow your mind". Catch News. Archived from the original on 27 May 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
18. "Filmfare Nominees And Winners" (PDF). The Times Group. pp. 88–90. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
19. "Filmfare Special Award". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
20. "8th Annual Star Screen Weekly Awards". Screen India. Archived from the original on 16 January 2002. Retrieved 29 May 2016.

• 1994 soundtrack albums
• Hindi film soundtracks
• Saregama soundtracks
• HMV albums