Chhaayaageet #282 - "Ek kaam karte hain. Is gaane ko poori tarah se modernize kar dete hain."
Whenever the music producer is in Bombay, he always makes it a point to reach out to the lyricist and invite him over. The two share a great bond, both on the professional and personal fronts.
It is around 8 PM one such evening when the music producer calls the lyricist. “Aaj shaam ko kya kar rahe ho? Yahan chale aao. Tumse baat karni hai.” What are you doing this evening? Come over. I want to talk to you about something.
The lyricist usually likes to unwind with a drink or two late in the evening. However, the music producer is a strict teetotaller who is infamous for serving large glasses of milk to his guests. Sensing what awaits him, the lyricist decides to politely decline.
“Papaji, aapke ghar aane ka kya fayda? Main aaunga toh aap phir se mujhe doodh pilaoge aur humari shaam kharaab ho jayegi.” What is the point of coming to your house? If I come, you will make me drink a big glass of milk and spoil my evening.
The music producer laughs off the excuse and insists that he needs to discuss something urgent.
“Arey tum aao toh sahi, ek bahut zaroori baat karni hai!” Oh, just come over, we need to discuss something very important!
Reluctantly, the lyricist agrees and heads over to his house. The music producer possesses an ear for music. He can hear just a single line of a tune and instinctively know whether it will be a massive hit. This is how he has built a huge music empire. He is very excited and pulls the lyricist into a quiet corner of the room.
“Maine ek Bhojpuri folk song suna hai, aur mujhe lagta hai ki yeh humari nayi film ke liye ekdum sahi rahega!” I heard a folk song, and I feel it will be absolutely perfect for our new film!
The music producer softly hums the opening line of the folk melody. The lyricist stands there in complete disbelief. The song is extremely slow and sounds almost like a devotional bhajan, completely at odds with the high-energy nature of the song and the film.
“Aap yeh kya gaa rahe hain? Humari film ka hero itna bada dancing sensation hai. Unke oopar yeh bhajan jaisa gaana kaise acccha lagega?” What are you saying? The hero of our film is such a huge dancing sensation in Bollywood! How will a song that sounds like a bhajan look good on him?
The music producer refuses to back down or take no for an answer.
“Mujhe yeh sab nahi pata. Tum lyricist ho aur yeh tumhara kaam hai. Kisi bhi tarah is gaane ko humari film ke hisaab se fit karo.” I don’t know all that. You are the lyricist, and this is your job. Figure out a way to make this song fit our film.
Seeing no way out, the lyricist sets up a meeting with the duo composers who are assigned to the film. They gather in the studio to listen to the original folk tune. The dance director is also there, ready to define the dance steps required by the song.
“Zara is gaane ki tune ko thoda tez karke dekhte hain. Shaayad usse ye gaana theek lage.” Let’s try to speed up this song. Perhaps it may sound fine after that.
The duo composers try speeding up the tempo to give it a livelier beat. They play it back to the lyricist and dance director, who both look at each other with the same unsatisfied look. The duo composers realize the futility of their effort. What do we do now?
“Yeh tune chahe kitni bhi tez kar lo, humare hero ke energetic style ke saath bilkul match nahi karegi.” No matter how fast you make this tune, it won’t match our dancing hero’s energetic style at all.
Seeing everyone dejected and almost at the verge of chopping the song itself, the lyricist decides to offer a final suggestion.
“Ek kaam karte hain. Is gaane ko poori tarah se modernize kar dete hain. Hum iski tune badal denge aur naye lyrics daal denge.” Let’s do one thing. We will modernize this song completely. We will change its tune as well as write new lyrics.
Sameer wrote the lyrics of the song Ankhiyon Se Goli Maare in the film Dulhe Raja produced and directed by Harmesh Malhotra. The music was produced by Gulshan Kumar and composed by Anand Milind. Sonu Nigam and Jaspinder Narula provided the playback for the song. The song was picturized on Govinda and Raveena Tandon.
Gulshan Kumar had an incredible instinct for music. He could listen to just a single line of a raw tune and instantly know whether it would become a massive hit. Having started in Delhi’s local markets, he understood what everyday listeners loved. Also, instead of just managing the business, he was hands-on with composers and lyricists, often pushing them to change tunes or rewrite lyrics. This unique talent led him to define soundtrack releases for films such as Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and Aashiqui. This success transformed T-Series, his music company, from a small tape vendor into India’s largest music empire.
Gulshan Kumar happened to listen to a Bhojpuri song, Nathuniye Par Goli Maare, during one of his visits to North India. He immediately latched on to the tune and summoned Sameer right away so he could use the lyrics and tune in their current film, Dulhe Raja, which was still under production. Even though Sameer and the rest of the music crew felt the original song didn’t have a place in the film, they modified it to meet the spirit of the song, which was Govinda and Raveena Tandon’s dance number. The dance director, Chinni Prakash, also collaborated during this phase so he could identify the right dance steps for the final song.
The song Ankhiyon Se Goli Maare became so popular that it became the inspiration for a film of the same name by the same director, Harmesh Maholtra.
This is the Bhopuri version of the song.
Lyricist: Sameer
Composers: Anand-Milind
Singer(s): Sonu Nigam, Jaspinder Narula
*ing: Govinda, Raveena Tandon
Producer/Director: Harmesh Malhotra
Music Producer: Gulshan Kumar
Dance Director: Chinni Prakash
Film: Dulhe Raja (1998)