Neelesh Misra Reveals He Wrote 'Kya Mujhe Pyar Hai' But Wasn’t Invited To Music Launch: 'Its A Never-Ending Story'

Writer, lyricist, and journalist Neelesh Misra recently made headlines for defending the creative choices in Netflix’s series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijacking. Drawing from his own book, 173 Hours in Captivity, Neelesh emphasized that the terrorists in the IC 814 hijacking were indeed referred to by their codenames, arguing against the criticism faced by the makers for not using the real names of the hijackers. Despite his defense, Netflix eventually added a disclaimer to the show, which revolves around the notorious hijacking and the week-long hostage drama that ended with the release of three terrorists from Indian prisons in exchange for the passengers’ safety. As a journalist and writer, Neelesh stood up for the creative freedom of his peers, but as a lyricist, he found himself speaking up for his own rights in a recent Twitter exchange.

The conversation started when actor-politician Kangana Ranaut shared a video from the promotion of Woh Lamhe, highlighting body positivity and encouraging women to embrace their natural selves. The video featured the hit song Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai playing in the background. Neelesh seized the moment to share a lesser-known fact about his career, tweeting, “I wrote the song running in the video — ‘Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai’ for this film. Sadly I wasn’t even invited to the music launch by the music label. A never-ending story for writers.”

This revelation surprised many, as not everyone was aware of Neelesh Misra’s contribution as a lyricist to this popular track sung by KK. It also allowed him to bring attention to a broader issue within the cinema music industry: the lack of recognition for lyricists. Responding to a surprised netizen, Neelesh explained, “This is because radio stations (and now also digital platforms) rarely give credit to lyric writers. Check out how many lyric writers are the primary artistes in a song. All India Radio gave credit to all lyricists and composers — that is why we know which song was written and composed by who.”

Neelesh wasn’t merely pointing out the problem without offering solutions. When a netizen suggested the idea of a crowd-funded platform to create quality music independent of the film industry, Neelesh enthusiastically responded, “We have launched the #SlowMusic label. We would love for people to invest in it and get returns. I welcome all possible ideas for monetising our audio and video content!”

Neelesh Misra began his career as a journalist, reporting on issues like rural development and insurgency, and later transitioned into writing for Bollywood. Neelesh has penned lyrics for popular songs in films such as Jab We Met and Woh Lamhe, with his song Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai gaining widespread acclaim. In addition to his work in music and film, he is the founder of The Slow Movement, which promotes meaningful storytelling, and hosts Yaadon Ka Idiot Box, a popular radio show.