How Indonesians are still mesmerised by the rhythm of ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’

The quintet from Indonesia surprised fellow guests by singing 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' at the banquet hosted by President Droupadi Murmu in honour of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, the Chief Guest at the 76th Republic Day celebrations, in New Delhi

New Delhi: ‘Kya karoon haaye, kuch kuch hota hai…,’ crooned a delegation from Indonesia at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday, evidence of Bollywood’s soft power and the enduring popularity of the film in the island nation.

Starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, and Rani Mukerji, ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’, also called ‘K2H2’, was screened in Indonesian theatres in 2001, three years after its original release in India. The 1998 Hindi film clearly struck a chord with Indonesians then. And even now.

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The Indonesian delegation surprised fellow guests by singing ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai‘ at the banquet hosted by President Droupadi Murmu in honour of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, the Chief Guest at the 76th Republic Day celebrations, in New Delhi.

The quintet from Indonesia performed the title song with a live band, garnering cheers and a round of applause from the guests at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Kajol shared the video on her X profile on Sunday and captioned her post as: “Bollywood’s power to unite shines again! The Indonesian delegation singing Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is such a heartwarming tribute. Truly honored! #KuchKuchHotaHai #IndiaIndonesia. (sic)” Filmmaker Karan Johar, who made his directorial debut with ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’, also shared the viral video on his Instagram Stories.

The successful run of ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ marked the revival of Indian films among the Indonesian upper class, according to the book ‘The Magic Of Bollywood: At Home and Abroad’, as quoted by Indonesian outlet ‘The Weekend Leader’.

The film, especially its soundtrack by Jatin-Lalit and Javed Akhtar and Sameer, was a massive success in Indonesia at the time of its release. It was a bigger box-office success than Hollywood superhit ‘Titanic’ which was also originally released in 1998.

The popularity of ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ marked the beginning of the “clean family films” genre into Indonesia gradually replacing the 1970s-80s action drama films. After its theatrical release, the film went on to become an even bigger phenomenon through repeated TV broadcasts and pirated VCDs circulation, according to the report.