KK was one of those singers in Bollywood, who made the ‘90s and early 2000s born people’s life wondrous. Apart from being signified for his romantic and sad songs, he had also given numerous party anthems such as ”It’s The Time To Disco” from ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ (2003), “Dus Bahane” from ‘Dus’ (2005), “Make Some Noise For The Desi Boyz” from ‘Desi Boyz’ (2011), “Party On My Mind” from ‘Race 2’ (2013), “Tune Maari Entriyaan” from ‘Gundaay’ (2014) and many more. These songs have become a nostalgic for us and literally unforgettable.
We lost him on Tuesday night, May 31 due to heart attack. It’s been already six days, since KK’s sudden demise and the entire nation is still in deep shock. People around the world, as well as the whole entertainment industry are still mourning online.
In an interview on 2 June 2022, with Rinku Ghosh on The Indian Express’ website, renowned music composer, Pritam Chakraborty, said that they both were fellow travellers on a musical journey. He stated, “It is extremely unfair that I am left midway and because of the pandemic, I couldn’t even see him one last time. I do not know how a big lover of life like KK, helped me look at our larger sense of purpose beyond music, is not by my side today. A lot will be said about his music, but seldom will anybody talk about how we lost a good human being, who was faithful to every relationship he had with people. We may not have spoken or met daily but showed up for each other when it mattered the most.”
While reminiscing his connection with KK, Pritam said, “Long way back, when we were busy finding our feet in Mumbai, after completing my sound engineering course at FTII Pune, I moved to Mumbai in 1998. KK had settled here a year before. Both of us began with advertisement jingles and doing scores for corporate films. I would compose and he would sing. Both of us had grown up with and believed in rock music. Therefore, we connected easily. In between our assignments at studios, I would strum my guitar, something that I have been doing since college and he would hum along with me. We vibed and resonated with each other. So when I got my first film ‘Tere Liye’ (2001), KK was the first singer I signed up. Since then, there has been no film where KK has not sung for me. I ensured that he would sing at least one number for me. So when he recorded “Ye Hausle” with me for ‘83’ (2021), little did I realise that it would be our last creative collaboration.”
Pritam further continued, “His “Tu Hi Meri Sabh Hai”, which I composed for the film ‘Gangster: A Love Story’ (2006), became a huge hit but it was “Tadap Tadap” from ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ (1999), that made KK a star. It was around this time that I casually recited “Alvida” to him at Galaxy Studio and he liked it so much that I promised he would be my voice if the song ever got chosen. And it became the driving force for ‘Life In A… Metro’ (2007).”
Pritam seemed deeply saddened and said, “He was my big brother and life coach. For all my late working hours, late sleeping and irregular food habits, I have never seen a more disciplined and wellness-oriented person. He would do yoga, not smoke or drink, eat right, sleep and wake up on time, get timely medical check-ups. He would not agree to absurd schedules and space out his work, even let go of big projects if it upset his work-life balance.”
