His pen weaves magic with words. But that’s only the result. The real McCoy, says Prasoon, is the thought that motivated him to become a lyricist in the first place. He is on a winning spree. Prasoon Joshi’s widely-publicised poem on the 26/11 war on Mumbai has won him hosannas galore for its heartfelt verse and depth. But Prasoon Joshi dismisses our request to comment on the tragedy.
“I have already spoken so much to the newspapers and channels. I wrote that poem because I could not sleep that night. When it was aired, everyone else wanted to use it too."
We are ensconced in the conference room of McCann Worldgroup India, the ad giant of which Prasoon is the Regional Executive Creative Director (Asia-Pacific). Out from a long meeting, Prasoon is in customary articulate mood as we shift topics to Ghajini.
“Ghajini is a hardcore mainstream action thriller. At first thought there is little in it by way of romance, but I thought that there was a big angle!” smiles the writer. “The role of music and songs here is different from that in most of the films that I have done. There are cases where the songs actually lend pace as the story moves through them, while other come as a relief in the high action and drama.”
What was the brief that he received? “The story was shared with me and I also saw the original,” notes Prasoon almost dismissively. “All I can say is every song here is completely situational with no scope for philosophy. I have been less of a poet here than in a Rang De Basanti or a Taare Zameen Par wherein the songs were the soul of the films.”
Since this is his first action film, how was the experience? “Writing plain commercial stuff was challenging, though I think I have got the hang of it now,” replies Prasoon. “Two songs are romantic and three are about having fun, so there is no pathos anywhere. I always like to express some philosophical thoughts in my songs, but this time I explored a lighthearted side and I think I enjoyed it. A little bit of yourself always seeps into the work you do, but I have tried to avoid that as well as any hangover of my older films. I have let the character dictate everything. Like when the hero is overwhelmingly grateful to God and cannot believe that his good luck for getting a perfect girl, he sings Kaise mujhe tum mil gayi / Qismat pe aaye nahin yakeen.” In another case, we used the word “Lattu” meaning a top and also going mad over someone.”
How does he look at his evolving friendship and association with Aamir Khan? How did it begin? “I met him for the first time during my Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola campaign. We instantly clicked from the beginning, which was probably because we have so much in common. He was appreciative about my work and so was I about his. As a published poet, I have always been duly proud of my work, and he has the same pride in his work too. And so we developed a huge respect for each other that grew enormously after Rang De Basanti, for which he insisted that I pen the dialogues. I was already doing Fanaa due to my equation with Aditya Chopra and Kunal Kohli and it was a coincidence that Aamir was doing that film too. The songs clicked in a big way in both cases and then of course came Taare Zameen Par.”
Prasoon pauses and then goes on thoughtfully, “Aamir is a refreshing surprise for someone who is in the thick of stardom. He’s down-to-earth, aware, sensitive, well-read and well-informed. He’s concerned about issues. Aamir and I spend time together when off-work, which is very necessary to have a deep comfort zone and do quality work together. Relationships don’t happen with me overnight. Aamir too does not warm up easily, but once he does, he commits completely. His love for poetry is exemplary. I wrote a 7-minute long title-track for Taare... and he refused to cut even a line of it. It’s the same with Rahman and I - we have an off-work bond too. Like Rahman just called me for nothing in particular when he landed in Frankfurt yesterday.”
Prasoon adds, “It is very important for me to respect someone with whom I work regularly.” But is it necessary to work only with Rahman and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and not look beyond to the other composers? “Well, I have my own way of working, though I am very fast. If needed, I could do 12 films a year, but I have to look after my ad side too. That restricts my quantum of work, but let’ see...” says the lyricist who is now doing Dilli 6, London Dreams and a small message-oriented film for which he is writing only the theme song, as he had done in his debut film Lajja seven years ago.
Talking about S-E-L, we wonder what he thinks of the fate of the music of Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic. “There were good songs in that film. I am upset that music in films has grown to be so dependent on the fate of the movie,” he says intensely. “This is wrong. The audience has to differentiate between a film and its music, especially in this country where there is very little music industry outside cinema.”
What is the solution to this, because in the pre-television promos days commercial flops like Mera Naam Joker, Satyam Shivam Sundaram and Umrao Jaan recorded phenomenal sales and success? “Yes, I guess marketing strategies need to be changed. The music should release sufficiently early to grow on its own steam and maybe it should be promoted differently. I respect our audience - it still believes in good music.”
Prasoon would rather not comment, however, on the abysmal levels to which some current film music and lyrics have sunk, and shrugs when we mention that TZP was probably the last Hindi film with completely meaningful lyrics. “I think that the problem begins when we forget that one reason why we wanted to first come into a profession when we were young,” he says. “As success comes, we create a paraphernelia around us. We work more because we have to maintain things like an expensive car or a facade. With this come in the fears and thus the change in attitude and the reduction in happiness. I still remember that my reason to do both ads and filmwriting was because I wanted to make a difference to people’s lives in my own way. If Shailendra wrote a O basanti pawan pagal I wanted to do something as excellent in my timeframe and context. For me, my work has never stopped being a search for ways and means to express something to the people.”
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