A busybee again!

But thanks to an influx of new songwriters,you do seem to be writing less,and the same applies to your contemporary Javed Akhtar.
I think that Javedsaab,like Gulzarsaab,was always known to work in fewer films. But yes,my work had reduced for a while because song and film production have gone down in totality. Numerically,film production statistics may not have changed much,but the films that really count are much less.
The other aspect is a natural phenomenon 8211; of trying out whatever is new in the market,which has always happened,for thats how any new talent comes in. You always want to try out the new arrivals. However,off-late,this natural habit has achieved unnaturally ajeeb heights,almost like a sensational new fashion statement! The straying husbands who want to leave their faithful older wives for pretty young things are much more than ever!
But while coming in is one thing,sustaining is a totally different ball-game. Only the talented and technically-sound ones will sustain. And very few of these new writers are being given complete films 8211; its all about piecemeal work. So I am not insecure. Even today,I have more films on hand than those who have come in after me. This year,I have also had Shaapit and Sadiyaan and some other films.

Which songwriters among your juniors or the newest arrivals have impressed you?
Prasoon Joshi and Irshad Kamil are doing some good work. But the fear within me is also that today new writers should be given the environment to bloom.

What would be your tip to new or aspiring lyricists?
I want to tell them that the film industry is like a ruthless centre for a tough examination! Imtihan ki jagah hai yeh,padhaai ki nahin! This isnt a place that you enter unprepared. And only relentless hard work and grit 8211; your karma in your karmabhoomi 8211; can keep you here.

Anand Bakshisaab told me that over here,the real hard work starts only after you make it.
Bakshisaab was perfectly right! The struggle to make it or break through is nothing at all compared to the struggle after you become someone. Thats when you have to sustain,fight back,hold your own and survive all the odds,including the arrival of new people in your field.

You always mention Bakshisaab and Majrooh Sultanpurisaab as your idols along with your father,the legendary Anjaansaab. How did they shape your lyrics?
With Bakshisaab and Majroohsaab it was about following their work and how they survived for decades over hundreds of films with multiple generations of composers and filmmakers. But there was also more: they both loved me and treated me like their own son because of their deep regards and respects for my father. In my formative years in the industry and even after I became very busy,they would always guide me,tell me how I could develop my craft. There is not a single question that I asked them that they did not answer satisfactorily.
As for my father,he is a natural advantage that all my juniors are missing! He told me very simply that for any newcomer it takes a long,long while to understand the industry and the technicalities. Iss mein aadhi zindagi nikal jaati hai! he would say. And so,for one long year,he advised me not to write any song but understand basics like the situation,tune,character,the characters IQ,the director and finally the psychology of the composer. He advised me also to spend a lot of time to understand the relationship between the mukhda and antara,and that if I wanted to be a success,I would have to concentrate on my kaam and not my naam as his son. This is the reason why my struggle phase was brief 8211; only about six years!

How has the journey been 8211; through six generations of musical associates?
I think that it has been a process of discovery. I dont feel that its been that long till someone points it out,which is, I think,the reason why I still feel fresh and look forward to my work everyday. I have worked with Chitraguptaji,who started out in the 40s,and I can never forget that Usha Khannaji,a decade his junior,gave me my first film Bekhabar in 1982 with a lot of encouraging words at a time when a senior composer had thrown my book of lyrics on the floor in front of me! Laxmikant-Pyarelal were very encouraging and I did a song each with Kalyanji-Anandji and R.D.Burman. Bappi Lahiri,Rajesh Roshan 8211; and then my most frequent collaborators Anu Malik,Anand-Milind,Nadeem-Shravan,Aadesh Shrivastava and Jatin-Lalit came in. Among the next lot,I worked a lot with Himesh Reshammiya,and also Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Pritam and now there have been names like Monty Sharma,Sachin Gupta,Sachin-Jigar and others.
What enriched me through all this is the way all of them looked at and approached their work and their songs. It was a long lesson in psychology that helped and enriched me. And yes,today I am proud to say that among music directors younger to me,I have never gone wrong in my assessment of their potentials. Watch out now for Sachin-Jigars music in Faltu. They have also done a good job in Krantiveer 8211; The Revolution.

Himesh Reshammiya and you struck gold repeatedly together. What are your expectations from Milenge Milenge and Kajraare?
My expectations are very high 8211; and so far,the response is mindblowingly positive! Himesh is an amazing talent 8211; he has repackaged the songs of Milenge Milenge,which has been in the making for four years,by changing the orchestration and voices. The psychology is that time and audiences keep changing and our music should not sound dated but as fresh as if it were made now. One has to adapt 8211; another requirement to last long. For example,I have begun to listen so much to Western music and artistes today because the generation is different and we have to understand them for our work to connect with them. We have also added a new song that Himesh has himself sung that has been praised for its lyrical concept that goes with the theme of the film.
As for Kajraare,it is the blending of two individual styles 8211; that of our combination that has done everything from Tere Naam to Aap Kaa Surroor with the powerful flavour of Mahesh Bhatts music in a potent blend. The music sounds both as if our colour has seeped into theirs and as if our music has acquired their intense kind of shades. For example,Bhattsaab never has a Punjabi song in his film,but Teriyaan meriyaan is not only a Punjabi number but a seductive song where the girl is playing the violin in a jungle! A great filmmakers contribution to any music can never be underestimated. And for me,I was coming back to the Bhatts after a long gap.

You have been continually and relentlessly criticised for standard phrases like dil,aashiqui,sanam and others,but today there is a general overuse of terms like rabba,maula,sargoshiyaan et al by others. Your take 8211; and also,have you too jumped on this bandwagon?
In my time,I would retort that if seven crore songs can be made from seven notes then I have only penned 7000 songs with seven words! Smiles If the winds are blowing that way,one does have to flow,so to speak,with trends. The current obsession with these words is because people who know their jobs have to listen to those who are no experts in their fields 8211; which again has always kept happening in film music but is in overdrive now. Sufism is used as an excuse for an overuse of such words and even phrases. But they do not realise that Sufism is about poetry,and not music.

Why have some actors and filmmakers with whom you have repeatedly delivered mega-hit musicals stopped working with you?
You will have to ask them that! But for me,it was never about being dependent on someone else,however big they may be as stars and as filmmakers. Frankly,when they know how I always deliver,I think that it is their loss! I know my job,I work very hard,and in my 500 films,I have worked with the biggest,the best,the most fickle and the most loyal.