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Some songs age. Others just settle into culture and refuse to leave. ‘Khallas’ from Ram Gopal Varma’s 2002 film Company is one of those. Even now, 24 years later, it doesn’t play like a relic.
It still feels alive, still carries that same edge. Back then, there was no playbook for making something viral. No reels, no trends to tap into, no social media, at least not in the way it exists now. And yet, the song found its way everywhere.
From music channels and college corridors to parties, it even became the first song of its time to get a billboard of its own, with people humming it without even realising how big it had become. And at the centre of it all was Isha Koppikar, who knowingly or unknowingly, became the face of something much larger than a song.
“When we were shooting ‘Khallas‘, it honestly didn’t feel like we were creating something huge. It was just different, raw, a little edgy, not trying too hard to be perfect. And maybe that’s what worked. Once it released, it just took off in a way none of us expected. People connected with it instantly. I remember suddenly being recognised everywhere, and it all happened so fast… it changed things for me overnight,” Isha recalled.
But for her, it was more than recognition. “Khallas wasn’t just a song I performed. It was my turning point. It changed the trajectory of my life in ways I could never have imagined. It gave me an identity, a recognition, and a space in the industry that was entirely my own. It showed me the power of owning my individuality and expressing it without fear,” she added.
And she’s quick to credit the man behind it. “None of this would have been possible without Ram Gopal Varma, the maverick of cinema. His vision wasn’t about following trends. He was the one who created them. He saw something different, believed in it, and gave it the space to exist unapologetically. ‘Khallas’ is a reflection of that fearless storytelling,” Isha said.
That’s really the throughline here. ‘Khallas’ didn’t rely on timing or tech. It was built on pure instinct and on people picking it up and running with it. Today, it lives on differently, rediscovered by a new generation that didn’t experience it the first time around. And in an era where everything is engineered to trend, there’s something oddly refreshing about a song that never needed any of that to begin with. “Khallas was a song that wasn’t just heard, it was felt, recited, and sung at the top of people’s voices wherever it was played. I believe it still is. And once you become a part of a moment like that, you don’t fade. You become timeless. So yes, I didn’t just do ‘Khallas’, the song became me,” she concluded. And honestly, we couldn’t agree more.
