Hero Unsung

Kamil takes the higher ground. “It’s a good feeling that even when your name is not on the CD,people know it’s you,” he says. “Jab aapke gaane aapka naam bayaan kar rahe ho toh phir aur kya chahiye,” he adds. The slip was explained as a “clerical error” by director,Imtiaz Ali,and the music company,T Series. Kamil responds,“It seems so. Only a clerical mind who doesn’t know the value of words or musical notes will make this mistake.”

Credit controversy apart,Kamil is busy reaping compliments. His is that rare “new-old” voice — with a timeless quality to his poetry; his thoughts a reflection of today’s zeitgeist. That’s what makes the youth respond instantly to his words. “I’ve been getting over 150 emotional emails everyday on my website. I’m stunned. I guess when the youth connects with itself,the energy is very different,” he says.

While he’s a camp regular with Ali after Socha Na Tha,Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal,his connection with Rahman was instant. “May be it’s his aura or his ability to make others comfortable,but he made me connect with myself in our very first meeting in Chennai,” says Kamil. Rahman’s brief to him was simple: “For this film,you should write history,not just lyrics. Forget about commerce,do what you feel is right and do it from the heart.”

The result? “I came back to Mumbai and left five films. I decided to give all my energy to Rockstar,” he says. The challenge in writing film songs,especially love songs,is to think of a fresh thought. Sometimes it can take days — like the Hawa Hawa song that took 10 days — the longest time in Kamil’s career. Sometimes,it just flows.

Contrarily,Tum Ho (Mohit Chauhan version) took just five minutes. “I might be writing my first draft on paper but in reality,it’s my third draft that I’ve been writing in my mind for days,” he says.

A writer,says Kamil,is a social scientist. “There is a constant play of physics and chemistry in his mind,” he says,adding,“You don’t know what sparks a thought and how it comes out.” Like it happened for Kun Faya Kun. “The Quran tells us that when Allah was creating the universe,he said,Kun (Be) and it happened (Faya Kun). In the film,the situation was that the protagonist,Jordan,is thrown out of his home,so he goes to make his own duniya. I felt it was his Kun Faya Kun moment which is why there is a line,ho mujhko bhi deedar mera and not tera. His journey is to find himself.”

For Sadda Haq,Kamil dipped into his memory and came up with the slogan in his college days when,after Operation Blue Star in Punjab,the final examinations were postponed. Kamil led a group of students demanding a month’s notice as preparation. “We made banners saying,Sadda Haq,aithe rakh. I would stand on the cycle and go about raising this slogan,” he says.

He has vowed never to use the oft-repeated filmy words like pyaar,dil,ikraar,jaanam,mehbooba and sanam in his songs. He takes his job with a pinch of responsibility,“Eighty per cent of our urban youth speaks in English. The 20 per cent Hindi that they use,they pick up from Hindi songs and films so as writers we have to be very careful,” he says. Well said.

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