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Lyricist Javed Akhtar‘s work on the songs in Ashutosh Gowariker’s 2004 film Swades is still remembered by music lovers. Sharing an interesting story behind the making of its song ‘Pal Pal Hai Bhaari’, the lyricist said the director called him urgently to the sets of the film in Maharashtra.
In an interview with Harper Broadcast, Javed recalled Ashutosh called him to the village of Wai with an SOS message because music composer AR Rahman was traveling abroad in two days and the lyricist was expected to write the song within one day. “I generally take an hour or two hours to write a song. So, after the pack up, the director came to my room and said that tomorrow Rahman is coming, we have turned a suite into a recording studio and he will leave the day after tomorrow,” he said,
Javed further said, “Most of the songs are written to a tune for the situation. So he said yes and gave me the cassette and cassette player. I asked ‘what is the situation?’ He said the situation is very simple, there is a Ramleela going on in the village and Sita ji is in Ashok Vatika and Raavan comes and asks, ‘What have you seen in Ram that you are so enamoured by him and you worship him?’. She answers him and he counters.”
The brief given by Ashutosh left Javed shocked. The lyricist argued that he needed time and references from Ram Charitra Manas to write on such a sensitive topic. However, Ashutosh expressed faith in him and left him alone in the hotel room to write the song.
“I generally sleep at 1.30, 2 am. But I slept at 9 am out of fear. I got up around 5 am. There was some light. I saw the cassette and player and I thought that I would write a few lines and tell him it’s not happening,” recalled Javed.
He continued, “I sat down to write and realised that in two hours, I finished the song. He came, I recited and he liked it and then the song was recorded. Now I was surprised how I could manage.”
The song received a positive response and Javed got several compliments. But one particular compliment has stayed with him till now. “The real twist comes now. When the music released, there were some very educated people, scholars, who had read Ramcharitmanas, and knew sanskrit and one of them told me, ‘you have done a marvelous job. The way you have used Ramcharitmanas’s argument which Tulsidas ji had written, that was brilliant!’.”
“I had no idea. Till today it’s a mystery. I come from Lucknow and in my childhood, I have seen many Ram leelas. Whether it was in my subconscious, I don’t remember if I had heard it and because of this tension and fear subconscious helped me or was it the only logical way of taking this further but it happened. I will never forget the kind of tension and insecurity I had when I was given this job,” he said.
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