Lyricist Raj Shekhar, known for Ghani Bawri from Tanu Weds Manu returns, and the trending Aise Kyun from Mismatched, interacts with The Pioneer over an exclusive chat takes us through his humble beginnings, penning a song for Fahaad Faasil’s upcoming project Paachuvum Albhuthavilakkum, and more.
Shikha Duggal
Energetic, charismatic, and talented lyricist and poet Raj Shekhar, famous for penning the song Rangrez from Tanu Weds Manu besides writing the peppy Ghani Bawri from Tanu Weds Manu returns and the recently trending Aise Kyun from the webseries Mismatched, to name a few, is currently writing a song for the national award winning actor Fahaad Faasil’s upcoming project Paachuvum Albhuthavilakkum.
In an exclusive chat with us, the lyricist takes us through the beginnings of his career, the pressure mounting on him, his obsession with writing lyrics, and more.
“Call me a fortuitous lyricist,” said the man, who was working as an assistant director with Anand Rai. “It was he who prevailed on me to start writing lyrics, but I still haven’t made it big. When Tanu Weds Manu was being shot, there was a dearth of casting directors. I was their replacement. Simultaneously, they were looking for a fresh lyricist, but they were tired of giving briefs to each and every music director. So, the director asked me to write a paragraph of lyrics and present it before the renowned music directors. Luckily, my dummy lyrics turned out to be the main lyrics of the Kangana Ranaut and Madhavan starrer movie,” gushed the lyricist.
While all his songs continue to be go-tos on the playlist, his song Aise Kyun, since its release, has been part of over 172K reels and gained over 8.1 million views. The ghazal version of this song has found a home not only with celebrities and audiences as a love anthem, but also in the lives of people dealing with mental health issues!
“Pressure was mounting on me. Now the music directors are approaching me to write an indistinguishable song for their shows too. How can I make a similar song? Funnily enough, I underestimate myself. Always feel so, the lyrics written for the last project will be my final call in the industry. My influences are Gulzaar and Javed Sahab. I can never match up with their aesthetics, though. And my contemporary Amitabh Bhattacharya is also very inspirational these days,” he added.
Shekhar’s approach to lyrical writing is literary-driven in today’s age and time, thanks to his background in Hindi literature. He is also someone who reads the script of the film before attempting to write the lyrics. His strong background in theater combined with his impeccable literary knowledge helps him get closer to a character and then write the lyrics.
Like many creative heads, he also suffers from block set-ups. He shared his way of dealing with it: “There is something beautiful yet frustrating about block set-up for us lyricists. Writing lyrics is addictive; now I do not know how to deal with this obsession! I am finding ways to cope, such as by smelling scents, reading essays, watching political commentary, and reading autobiographies, and when the pressure is lessened I find myself once more.”
Apart from lyrics, Shekhar aims to again start penning dialogue for films and one day direct his own story on the big screen. He goes fifty-fifty in for his association with Fahaadh, “The songs are complete. Queerly, I can’t even pronounce the name of his film and have given my all to writing the best I can for Fahaadh. Brought out the sensitivity and compassion in the songs. I had been admiring his movies all this time, and all of a sudden I was offered to work for him. Dreams do come true, and I am only hoping for Malayalam cinemagoers to love me as one of their own.”
Owing to his literary marvel, in 2018, Raj Shekhar was awarded the Delhi Hindi Akademi Kavya Samman, one of the most prestigious awards given to poets by Government of Delhi, for his poetic contribution to film songs!
“I always knew I would be awarded for my first big banner film. Saw it coming, somehow. Interestingly, it wasn’t promoted at its peak. The media was whispering in my ears—it’s you! You are deserving. There were times when I was nominated but, oddly, wasn’t invited. There is no bitterness now; these misfortunes taught me I don’t write for awards,” concluded the lyricist.
