‘QSQT’ was a milestone that changed Indian cinema: Aamir Khan

Aamir Khan and Udit Narayan were special guests present for the song launch of ‘Srikanth’, a biopic of visually impaired person Srikanth Bolla, who fought against all odds to become an engineer from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and established his own business, Bollant Industries, in India. T-Series’ Bhushan Kumar and writer Director Tushar Hiranandani have come together to narrate this story on the big screen with Rajkummar Rao, Alaya F, Sharad Kelkar and Jyotika. The iconic song ‘Papa Kehte Hain’ from ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’, which had featured Aamir Khan, has been recreated for this film.

The makers launched the song with Aamir Khan and original singer Udit Narayan, who has also sung some portions of the new song. The event saw a visually impaired band performing on this song along with ‘Ae Mere Humsafar’ from the same film. Their performance made both Aamir and Udit nostalgic.

Remembering how they had created the song ‘Papa Kehte Hain’ back in 1988, Udit said, “I want to congratulate the entire team of ‘Srikanth’. This song took us back 36 years. I can’t believe even after all these years this song and music has left a mark on everyone’s hearts then and now.  I want to congratulate T-Series as well. I still remember 36 years ago when we were supposed to do this song, Aamir was sitting in front of me. I was told that I had to sing for this hero. I was scared as I thought if I do not sing this song well, then I would have to pack my bags and leave town.”

Aamir chipped in here, “Especially after looking at me, he packed his bags thinking – is this a hero? He thought, it is confirmed now that I will have to go!”

Udit continued and said, “But thanks to God and all your blessings, iss gaane ne qayamat hi kar dala. Now this new film has this song and all of us have come here, so I think this film will also be a super hit.”

Speaking after the performance, Aamir said, “I am so happy to be here today. It is a wonderful team of musicians and singers and they have performed so well for us. It has refreshed our memories. I am remembering Naseer saab, Mansoor, Anand-Milind, Majrooh saab, who wrote this song. I had a lot of fun listening to both the songs – ‘Papa Kehte Hain’ and ‘Ae Mere Humsafar’, both are beautiful songs. The team has sung well and thank you so much as it was really a walk down memory lane for me and Udit, in fact, for all of us. It’s been 35-36 years now, but this song still touches our hearts, it evokes wonderful emotions in us. So, thank you so much guys.”

Narrating how Bhushan took his permission to use the song in this film, Aamir said, “I never thought this song would be re-released. One day Bhushan told me ‘Sir, your song is being used in our film, ‘Srikanth’.’ He asked me if it was okay to use the song. I said yes, of course it is okay.”

“Srikanth’s story tells us an important thing – that in everyone’s lives sometimes things go wrong. Things could be going fine when suddenly life could throw a challenge in front of you. How we live with that challenge and face it, is important. The kind of support Srikanth’s parents have given to him and how he has lived his life and has overcome the challenges that have come his way is an inspirational narrative. This film teaches us that we have to be strong and believe in ourselves, then we can achieve anything in life. This is what I am looking forward to in the film.”

Sharing why this song has always been close to his heart, Aamir said, “This song actually started my career. Certainly, it is a very special song. When we were making this film, all of us were very new – Mansoor was making his first film, Kiran Deohans, our DOP, was also new; Anand-Milind, Juhi, Udit ji, Alka ji – all of us were starting our careers. We had no clue whether we would succeed or not. However, the great support that Nasir Sir gave us was phenomenal. Then one day the film got released and it slipped from our hands. It was a very exciting journey to see the kind of love it received. I like to believe that ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’ was a milestone in Hindi Cinema that changed the whole sensibility of Indian cinema from then onwards – from 1988 you can see the shift happening. I think Mansoor is probably the first director to bring that kind of change. So, it’s a very special film for me in every way.”