I now tell myself to hurry up: Javed Akhtar

The lyricist and scriptwriter tells DH he wasted a lot of time in his youth, but at 78, is keen to write a book of essays

A young Javed Akhtar with his son Farhan. Credit: Amaryllis

Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjeev Kumar wanted to play the role of Gabbar Singh in Sholay. Amjad Khan eventually played it and shot to fame.

Poet-lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi had the habit of combing his hair whenever he was nervous. He always kept a comb in his pocket.

Javed Akhtar was to write the lyrics for ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hain’ but he found the film’s title too ‘frivolous’ and so turned it down.

It took Javed Akhtar two days to write the song ‘Ek ladki ko dekha toh aisa laga’. Usually, he took 30 minutes to one hour for a song, but in this, he was aiming for a purity in the similes. The song ended up having 21 similes.

Once, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan listened to the strains of Lata Mangeshkar’s number ‘Yeh zindagi usi ki hai’ playing at the hotel where he was staying. After listening to the entire song, he told Pandit Jasraj, who was with him: ‘The wretch is never out of tune’.

Jadunama: ‘Javed Akhtar’s Journey’ by Arvind Mandloi (and translated by Rakhshanda Jalil) brims with such anecdotes. It chronicles the journey of the 78-year-old multi-faceted artiste through a compilation of essays, photographs, interviews and sketches.

Explaining that the book does not have a linear, chronological structure, Akhtar says it is a “repertoire of his beliefs, choices and thoughts.” He tells Showtime that the author went to great lengths to collect material for the book, even chancing on the fiery speeches decrying religious dogmas the poet-lyricist had given in school and college! Terming it a true ‘labour of love’, Akhtar describes how he spoke freely to the author over several days and nights.

In the book, Akhtar talks emotionally about his father Jan Nisar Akhtar, the Urdu poet and lyricist, and the enormous influence he had in his life. Despite a post-modern resurgence in the form of spoken poetry, hip-hop, and free verse, why is poetry still relegated to the dusty corners of the literary landscape? “There cannot be any crash course in poetry… you have to catch them young. If a child is born in a family where his elders put some premium on poetry, discuss poems, and go to recitals, then the child will get interested, sooner or later. They might say they are not interested but there is some unseen process of osmosis that does happen,” he says, adding that today, there is great interest in poetry among the young but they lack in vocabulary, craft and technique.

In a telephonic interview, Showtime also asked Javed Akhtar a few questions from the Proust Questionnaire. (The Proust Questionnaire has its origins in a parlour game popularised by Marcel Proust, the French essayist and novelist, who believed that, in answering these questions, the true nature of an individual is revealed.) Excerpts

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Why are we pursuing happiness? You know, it is not very difficult to be happy. The moment your basic requirements are fulfilled, you can be happy if you so wish. But people who continue to pursue it are not looking for happiness, they think they are, but what they are pursuing is a mirage. They fool themselves that they are looking for happiness, but they are looking for perfection, for something beyond their reach, and when they do obtain it, it loses its charm.

What is your greatest fear?

I am not sure I have any great fears. Regrets, yes.

What is your greatest regret?

I regret that I could have done much more. There’s so much to be done and I have wasted a lot of time. This is the truth — I am not saying this because it sounds humble and nice. When I was 25-26, I led a comfortable life… I could have learnt a new language or a musical instrument. I have a musical ear and a natural understanding of music but I wasted a lot of time drinking alcohol, which I quit 32-33 years ago.

What is your greatest achievement?

My greatest achievement? I intend to achieve it this year… it could be a script, a song, or anything. You see, apne barey mein aise sochna (to start thinking like this about oneself) is the beginning of the end.

What is your motto?

Be thankful that some people have appreciated your work, but move ahead. Whatever you are doing, with whatever talent you possess, do it to the best of your ability.

What is your greatest weakness?

Like I said earlier, I understood late that I wasted a lot of time in my youth. Now I tell myself, hurry up, you are not going to live forever — do that work, write that book. In this context, I do not want to write an autobiography but I do wish to write a book of essays — my views on different topics, such as rationality, religion, women empowerment, politics….

What is the one thing you value in friendships?

Earlier, you were asking about happiness… you know, true happiness is in good relationships. If you have good friends, a good spouse, and good children, your ultimate joy and satisfaction lie there. I do not want to sound like a tyagi, but material gain is just illusory happiness: once you buy it, or achieve it, you feel hollow and small.

(Jadunama is published by Amaryllis, a division of Manjul Publishers).

Akhtar’s high-five

To choose five songs from several favourites is beyond tough and so we have picked the ones that have an unusual story behind them.

1 Dekha Ek Khwab (Silsila, 1981): This was the first-ever lyrics he wrote and it was apparently Lata Mangeshkar who convinced Yash Chopra that Akhtar was the right choice.

2 Tumko Dekha Toh Ye Khayal (Saath Saath, 1982): A small film that became a huge hit because of its songs and their evocative lyrics, the combination cassette of ‘Arth’ and ‘Saath Saath’ turned out to be the highest-selling cassette in the history of HMV.

3 Ek, Do, Teen (Tezaab, 1988): Apparently, Akhtar was criticised by some for being a poet and writing ostensibly banal lyrics that go ‘ek, do, teen, char...’ But he says he wrote a ‘Barahmasa’ (songs of separation in Urdu-Hindi poetry tradition) in miniature form.

4 Jism Dhamakta (Sangam, album with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, 1996): Javed Akhtar and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan worked on this album, full of unforgettable songs, in a bungalow beside the sea. Akhtar describes the experience as being next to two seas — one was the ocean and one was Nusrat himself, whom he calls a ‘sea of melodies’.

5 Breathless (Shankar Mahadevan, 1998): It is easy to miss the beauty of the lyrics in this song because of its, well, breathlessness! Shankar Mahadevan requested Akhtar to write a song that feels like a river flowing aimlessly but stipulated that it should have a half-second metre!