"Mitwa" () is a romantic

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

-language song from the 2006

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

romantic drama Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna ''Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna'' (transl. ''Never Say Goodbye''), also abbreviated as ''KANK'', is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic drama film directed by Karan Johar, who co-wrote the screenplay with Shibani Bathija. It was produced b ...

'', directed by

Karan Johar Karan Yash Johar (born Rahul Kumar Johar; 25 May 1972), often informally referred to as KJo, is an Indian filmmaker, producer and television personality who primarily works in Hindi cinema. He has launched the careers of several successful ac ...

. The track is composed by

Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy () is an Indian musical trio consisting of Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa. They have composed music for over 50 soundtracks across five languages: Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi and English. Amongst ...

, while the lyrics are penned by

Javed Akhtar Javed Akhtar (born 1945) is an Indian screenwriter, lyricist and poet. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2007, two of India's highest civili ...

. The song was sung by Pakistani singer

Shafqat Amanat Ali Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan (; ; born 26 February 1965) is a Pakistani pop and classical singer, songwriter, and composer belonging to the Patiala Gharana tradition of music. He was the lead vocalist of the Pakistani pop rock band Fuzön until ...

and

Caralisa Monteiro Caralisa Monteiro is an Indian singer known for advertising jingles and Bollywood songs. Early life Caralisa Monteiro was born to Emeline Monteiro, a school teacher at Don Bosco High School, Matunga and Neville Monteiro an opera singer and a ...

, who also penned the phrase "''love will find a way...''" in the song. The music video of the song featured the film's lead actors

Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as the "Padishah, Baadshah of Bollywood" and "King Khan", he has Shah Rukh K ...

and

Rani Mukherji Rani Mukerji (; born 21 March 1978) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Noted for her versatility, she is the recipient of multiple accolades, including eight Filmfare Awards. Mukerji has featured in listings of the leading and hi ...

Development

Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan (born 3 March 1967) is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films. In 2023, he was awarded an honorary doctorate (''honoris causa'' degree) by Birmingham Ci ...

had previously heard the song "Aankhon Ke Saagar" by Pakistani vocalist

on the radio, and impressed by his vocals, gathered details about him from a friend at the radio station. When

composed ''Mitwa'', they decided to opt for Ali instead of Mahadevan himself, since they wanted the song to sound different. The song is a

Sufi rock Sufi rock or Sufi folk rock is a subgenre of rock music that combines rock with classical Islamic Sufi music traditions. It emerged in the early 1990s and became widely popular in the late 1990s in Pakistan and Turkey. The term "Sufi rock" was co ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

, which is the first of its kind in a Karan Johar film. It depicts the growing feelings of love between Dev (Khan) and Maya (Mukerji), despite being married to different people. The trio used the traditional Indian instruments

Santoor The Indian santoor instrument is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer, and a variation of the Iranian santur. The instrument is generally made of walnut wood and has 25 bridges. Each bridge has 4 strings, making for a total of 100 strings. It ...

and

Sarod The sarod is a stringed instrument, used in Hindustani music on the Indian subcontinent. Along with the sitar, it is among the most popular and prominent instruments. It is known for a deep, weighty, introspective sound, in contrast with the sweet ...

which was played by Mahadevan. The song also has a remix version called "Mitwa – Revisited".

Critical reception

"Mitwa" received widespread critical and popular acclaim. Joginder Tuteja of ''

Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is an Indian entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provides n ...

'' noted, "Mitwa is a sure shot chartbuster number. The song has a good rhythm to it and though it starts off with distinct Pakistani shade, it takes a lot from Indian classical music as it progresses further. It is a number that could easily belong to Indi/Paki pop genre. 'Mitwa Revisited' follows a little later and the remix version turns out to be highly trendy." Sukanya Verma of ''

Rediff Rediff.com, stylized as rediff.com, is an Indian news, information, entertainment, and shopping website. Founded by Ajit Balakrishnan in 1996, it was the first Indian website to become a mainstream news media organization. It is headquartered i ...

'' stated, "Mitwa is uplifting and lively. The synthesis of Fuzon vocalist Shafqat Amanat Ali, Shankar Mahadevan and Caralisa's voices with Javed Akhtar's compelling lyrics results in wonderful, rousing music."

Chart performance

According to the figures from ''

Box Office India Box Office India is an Indian film website dedicated to tracking, reporting, and analyzing the financial performance of films released in the Hindi entertainment industry. Established in 2003, Box Office India has become a prominent source of ...

'', the album of the film sold over 1,900,000 copies in India making it the second best-selling album of the year, marginally behind ''

Dhoom 2 ''Dhoom 2'' (transl. ''Blast 2''), also known as ''Dhoom 2: Back in Action'', is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language caper action thriller film directed by Sanjay Gadhvi and produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films. Written by Vijay Krishna A ...

''. The song "Mitwa", received excellent feedback from critics and audience alike. The song ruled the charts in coming days. It was placed in '' PlanetBollywood.coms Top 10 songs list. ''

'', in its half-yearly music roundup, remarked, "The song that rocks most is 'Mitwa', that has so far been responsible for the good opening of ''KANK''."

Trivia

Actress

Vidya Balan Vidya Balan (pronounced ; born 1 January 1979) is an Indian actress. Known for pioneering a change in the portrayal of women in Hindi cinema with her roles in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including a National Fil ...

is admittedly a fan of the song, stating "When ''Mitwa'' plays, my hands go out like Shah Rukh Khan's". She insisted that the song be played prior to shooting the romantic sequences of the song "Bakhuda Tumhi Ho" between

and

Shahid Kapoor Shahid Kapoor (; born 25 February 1981) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. Initially recognised for portraying romantic roles, he has since taken on parts in action films and thrillers, and is the recipient of List of awards and n ...

for the romantic comedy ''

Kismat Konnection ''Kismat Konnection'' (''Fate Connection'') is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Aziz Mirza. The film stars Shahid Kapoor and Vidya Balan with Juhi Chawla making a guest appearance. Shah Rukh Khan is the narrator. Prod ...

'' (2008).

Accloades

References

{{authority control Indian songs Songs written for Hindi-language films Songs with music by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy 2006 songs Songs with lyrics by Javed Akhtar