17 Years of Namastey London: “Most people in the unit were against ‘Main Jahaan Rahoon’. Today, this is the only song from the album that survived the test of time” – Javed Akhtar

By Fenil Seta -

March 23, 2024 - 11:26 AM IST

Namastey London (2007) was released on March 23, 17 years ago. Starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif, this romantic comedy-drama was a hit at the box office and was loved for its performances, plot, relatable and touching scenes and of course, the music. For most listeners, the best song of the album is 'Main Jahaan Rahoon', sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. Hence, it’ll be a surprise for many people to know that this song almost didn’t make it to the soundtrack of the film. Javed Akhtar opened up about this aspect in the show ‘Main Koi Aisa Geet Gaaon’.

17 Years of Namastey London: “Most people in the unit were against ‘Main Jahaan Rahoon’. Today, this is the only song from the album that survived the test of time” – Javed Akhtar

Javed Akhtar started by saying, “There was a song, 'Main Jahaan Rahoon', composed by Himesh Reshammiya. I had written its lyrics. But most of the people in the unit were against this track. They said, ‘Yeh aaj kal ka gaana nahin lagta’. Maybe, they felt so as it was a sad song. However, I was confident that it would work big time. I’ll be eternally thankful to the producer and director who, rather reluctantly, accepted it!”

Javed Akhtar then smiled and said, “Kamaal ki baat yeh hai ki iss picture ko release hue 17 saal ho gaye hai. This film had many more songs. But this is the only song that survived the test of time (from the album). As soon as this song starts playing in a concert, the whole hall erupts with applause.” And on cue, the audience started to clap as Meiyang Chang started to sing 'Main Jahaan Rahoon'.

Namastey London was produced and directed by Vipul Shah. It also starred Rishi Kapoor and Upen Patel. Vipul Shah, in an interview during the 15th anniversary of the film, said that the critics were not very kind to the film, “Some of the reviewers really criticized it. I, especially, remember one reviewer who said that two of the worst films of the year were Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag (2007) and Namastey London.”

As for casting Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif, he said, “When I was about to start shooting, a lot of people told me that their last film (Humko Deewana Kar Gaye; 2006) didn’t do well and asked if I was sure about casting them. But I couldn’t imagine anyone else. Eventually, their chemistry sizzled on screen, which became the heart and soul of our film.”