My Name Is Khan (soundtrack)

Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy composed the film's music and score to My Name Is Khan, who had previously worked with Johar in Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) and Wake Up Sid (2009).^[1][2] All the songs are played in the background without lip sync.^[3][4] Due to the themes and political issues in the film, Johar decided to avoid party numbers unlike his previous films, adding that "there's guts, soul and heart in the music".^[3][5]

Besides writing the dialogues, Iyengar additionally wrote lyrics for two songs: "Sajdaa" and "Allah Hi Rahem"; Akhtar was approached to write lyrics for the remaining songs but refused them citing his unwillingness to share credits.^[6] But with Johar's persuasion, Akhtar later agreed to write one song though his name not appeared in the film's credits.^[7] In a later interview, Akhtar mentioned on his refusal citing that his involvement would take away the attention of the other deserving lyricist; he added that, he had read the songs written by Iyengar and appreciated it.^[6]

On 14 June 2009, a burglary happened at the trio's studio in Mumbai, with the computers consisting of unrecorded tunes were stolen. However, their tunes for the film were left untouched.^[8]

The album was highly anticipated, after Johar's collaboration with Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy had provided successive results, with the music of Kal Ho Naa Ho and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna.^[9] Sony Music India acquired the film's music rights for an undisclosed price, as a part of the long-term deal with Dharma Productions.^[10] The soundtrack was released in the overseas markets on 5 January 2010,^[a] while it was released in India a day later.^[9][13]

In iTunes, besides the songs from the film, the album further consisted of four additional songs taken from Karan Johar's previous films.^[13] A deluxe edition, which consisted of the Lo-fi flip versions of "Sajdaa" and "Noor-E-Khuda", produced by Deepanshu Ruhela and Lo-fi 2307 were released on 12 February 2023.^[14]

The soundtrack received positive reviews from music critics.^[15] Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama wrote My Name Is Khan's music does not has the romantic nature that is usual in Karan Johar's films, mainly Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, and gave it a rating of three out of five stars.^[16] Ruchika Kher of Hindustan Times concluded, "On the whole, every song in the album is above-average. The composers have stuck to the theme of the film and the soundtrack has the potential to rock the charts."^[17] According to Chris Nickson of AllMusic, "It's Indian music lite, all very classy and polished but ultimately lacking in soul, which is one quality the film appears to possess. More than anything, the ten tracks here function as background music, since they're not especially arresting."^[18]

Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com found the music to have strong Sufi feels, opining that "it's neither fancy nor groundbreaking but warm enough to make us like it".^[19] Writing for the BBC, Jaspreet Pandohar described the soundtrack as a "mellow, spiritually-uplifting musical experience",^[20] while Kumar Saurav of Mid-Day noted "the six-track album is worth occasional listening, but certainly not the soul-stirrer you were expecting".^[21]

Upon revisiting the album in 2023, Saaya Vaidya in her column for Film Companion described it as "a masterclass in the art of weaving together songs that explore similar themes. The songs and melodies seem to speak to one another — if one raises a question, another answers it."^[22]

The Billboard magazine reported that it sold 150,000 units four days after its launch in India only and proved to be a commercial success.^[9][23] The Indo-Asian News Service included "Sajda" in their listing of 10 greatest Bollywood songs of 2010.^[24]