“Woh shaam kuchh ajeeb thi” began, in lyricist Gulzar’s recollection, with composer Hemant Kumar struggling to find words at the harmonium. Gulzar supplied the opening thought; Hemant then shaped an antara tune around it, and Gulzar wrote lyrics to fit that melody. A later account from Hemant adds another detail: Kishore Kumar took the song home and listened for two or three days before saying he would find the right mood for Rajesh Khanna’s film.
Which song is it, and who made it?
“Woh shaam kuchh ajeeb thi” is associated with the 1969 Hindi film Khamoshi. The credited collaborators are lyricist Gulzar and composer Hemant Kumar, with Kishore Kumar singing the rendition discussed here. The film and song association appears in listings from Amazon Music UK and Saregama, as well as the accounts below.
How did the song’s opening line take shape?
In a recollection attributed to Gulzar and published in a Scroll excerpt from a book about classic Hindi film songs, Hemant Kumar was seated at the harmonium but was not finding either words or a tune. Gulzar remembered him saying, “Kuchh bol do. Kuchh bann nahi raha hai [Give me some words… I am not able to compose anything]”.
Gulzar said he knew what the character would be thinking because he had written the script. He offered the thought: “Woh shaam kuchh ajeeb thi, yeh shaam bhi ajeeb hai. Woh kal bhi paas thi, woh aaj bhi kareeb hai”. In the scene’s emotional context, the character is with someone else while remembering a person he loved and lost. The line makes the present evening echo an earlier one, turning the song’s central feeling into a memory that persists.
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Why was the composition process unusual?
Gulzar’s account describes an uncommon order of collaboration. The mukhra—the opening refrain—began with his words. Hemant composed a complementary tune for the antara, or verse, and Gulzar then wrote the antara lyrics to that melody. Gulzar contrasted this with their more usual process: the composer would give him a tune for the mukhra, then compose the antara afterward. Here, the opening lyric came first, and the verse tune guided the words that followed.
This account comes from an excerpt published by Scroll on 19 July 2015, attributed to Gulzar and drawn from a book by Balaji Vittal and Anirudha Bhattacharjee. It is a published recollection, not session documentation, so it establishes how Gulzar remembered the song’s creation rather than a recording-room chronology independently confirmed by production records.
What did Hemant Kumar recall about Kishore Kumar’s rendition?
In a separate interview conducted in Bangla and presented in English translation by Peeyush Sharma for Silhouette, Hemant Kumar recalled recording the song on a small tape recorder and giving the tape to Kishore Kumar. Hemant said Kishore took it home, listened for two or three days, then called him with this reassurance: “This is Kaka’s (Rajesh Khanna) film, I will bring the correct mood to the song. Please don’t worry.” Hemant said Kishore sang it beautifully.
The detail offers a glimpse into the preparation behind the performance, but it remains Hemant’s retrospective account in an interview, not a studio log. His mention of “Kaka” refers to Rajesh Khanna, the film’s lead actor.
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The Scroll excerpt identifies the song with Raga Yaman and says the sequence was shot in Calcutta on the Hooghly without a backdrop, with a sizeable crowd watching. Those are details reported in the excerpt; it provides no named musicological analysis or production documentation to independently establish them. It is therefore safest to attribute both claims to that account rather than treat them as technically or archivally verified facts.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where can you listen?
Amazon Music UK has a digital track listing for “Woh Sham Kuchh Ajeeb Thi” from Khamoshi: open the listing. Its availability may depend on location and service terms.
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