Chhaayaageet #283 - “Aapne kabootar ki baat ki, toh mere dhyan mein ek shabd aaya hai.”
Since you mentioned the pigeon, a word comes to my mind.
The Director is trying to flesh out a key sequence in the script. His film is about the lives of people in Old Delhi near the Chandni Chowk area, where he himself grew up. The lead character highlights a girl growing up in a traditional conservative house, but craving freedom in the face of suppression. For some reason his mind keeps coming back to a picture of a pigeon. So pretty but yet not something that can stay captive. The only purpose for it is to be free. And to fly.
He feels he needs to communicate this to the lyricist right away. He calls him to come over.
“Humari film mein ek scene hai jahaan heroine ki azaadi aur uski befikri dikhani hai. Main chahta hoon ki heroine ke saath ek kabootar is poore gaane mein ho.” There is a scene in our film where we need to show the heroine’s freedom and carefree nature. I want a white pigeon to be with our heroine in the entire song.
The lyricist pauses, letting the imagery sink in. What to call the bird? Having a name to refer in the lyrics would really help communicate what the director wants. He finally settles down. A totally invented word that means nothing to anyone but that’s what names are. They only make sense once they are assigned to someone. He shares that with the director.
“Aapne kabootar ki baat ki, toh mere dhyan mein ek shabd aaya hai. Yeh koi asli shabd nahi hai, bas ek banaya hua naam hai jo aazaadi aur befikri ko darshata hai. Since you mentioned the pigeon, a word comes to my mind. It isn’t an existing dictionary word, just a coined term that symbolizes her freedom and carefree nature.
The director likes it. If you want to personify something it needs a name. He asks the lyricist to continue ahead with the rest of the lyrics.
Excited by the concept, the director calls the composer on the phone. He doesn’t want to wait till the composer can come to see him from Chennai. The director narrates the same situation to the composer and also shares the specific word that the lyricist came up with for the song. On the other end of the line, the composer listens and pauses for a while. The next thing the director starts hearing is humming on the other side. The composer is composing while they are on the phone.
“Thoda khul kar gaana gao. Zara mein bhi to sunoo.” Sing the song clearly. Let me listen too.
The composer starts singing that unique word in a tune followed by humming and back to the same word.
“Ye kamaal ki tune hai. Isme puri azaadi aur chanchalpan nazar aati hai.” This is a great tune. I can feel complete freedom and playfulness in it.
With the tune and lyrics locked, the team faces the next challenge. Finding the right voice. They do not want a traditional, polished playback voice. They need someone whose singing sounds as casual and carefree as the pigeon.
The composer starts thinking of someone who can fit the mould. Being a composer he keeps tabs on the upcoming singing circle. He finally locks into someone he has heard before. The singer has spent years as the frontman of a popular pop-rock band. He can definitely bring the raw and carefree attitude required to do justice to the song.
Prasoon Joshi write the lyrics of the song Masakali in the film Delhi-6. The music was composed by AR Rahman and film was produced and directed by Rakesh Omprakash Mehra. The playback of the song was provided by Mohit Chauhan and the song situation was picturized around Sonam Kapoor and Abhishek Bachchan.
For Rakesh Omprakash Mehra, Delhi-6 was a deeply personal journey rooted in his childhood memories of Old Delhi, where different faiths coexisted in harmony. He was troubled by how communal tensions fractured this social fabric, and felt compelled to speak out. The film is a view of Old Delhi from the perspective of an NRI played by Abhishek Bachchan returning to his roots to explore themes of unity, prejudice, and personal freedom.
Mehra saw a pigeon on the rooftops of Chandni Chowk as a direct reflection of the character played by Sonam Kapoor. The pigeon is tethered to the surroundings, but constantly looking at the open sky and yearning to fly high. By linking her rebellious spirit to the bird, Mehra turned her personal struggle for independence into the central theme of the film. That’s when he reached out to Prasoon Joshi for the lyrics and Prasoon Joshi came up with a random word “Masakali” which fit really well in the song composed by AR Rahman and sung by Mohit Chauhan.
At the 55th Filmfare Awards, the film received 7 nominations, and won 3 awards, including Best Music Director for AR Rahman, Best Male Playback Singer for Mohit Chauhan for the song Masakali and Best Female Playback Singer for Rekha Bhardwaj for the song Sasural Genda Phool.
This is Mohit Chauhan singing Masakali in a concert.
Lyricist: Prasoon Joshi
Composer: AR Rahman
Singer: Mohit Chauhan
*ing: Sonam Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan
Producer/Director: Rakesh Omprakash Mehra
Film: Delhi-6 (2009)