Neha Saini Amritsar, September 13 While struggling to find his feet in Bollywood as a writer back in early 2000’s, Irshad Kamil used to have recurrent dream about a black lady. He continued to have that dream until he received his first Filmfare award in 2010 for Ajj Din Chadeya for film Love Aaj Kal. “The black lady I chased in my dreams was the statue of Filmfare award. Even today, I see that lady in my dreams sometimes,” shares Kamil with humility that has now become his statement. Kamil went on to win three Filmfares for Nadaan Parinde (Rockstar) and Tum Saath Ho (Tamasha) interestingly all for Imtiaz Ali’s films. He is the second after Gulzar, the legend, to reach the milestone. Interacting with the audience at an evening, organised by Kalam, a literary platform for writers by Prabha Khaitan Foundation, Kamil, who is one of the most celebrated lyricists of his time, shared anecdotes from his life and journey as a writer. “My first song Bhaage Re Mann from Chameli happened when I was finding my feet in Bollywood. Ever since, I have remained true to my pen, writing with truth and words that are alive,” he says. While many contemporaries have bent the knee in front of commercialisation of music industry, Kamil refused to do so. “I only write what my kalam (pen) allows me to as I am answerable to it. Writing, I feel, is easy when you only have to write truthfully.” He says that his journey from Bhaage Rey Mann (Chameli) to Bekhayali (Kabir Singh) has been smooth. He agrees that the current lot of film songs seem to have lost the way to people’s hearts. “No one wants to work hard to create good music these days. Producers, music companies and others involved seem to have been chasing the likes, subscriptions and popularity figuratively. So, it has become difficult to make good meaningful songs.” He is an exception though. His words has always managed to pull heart strings, whether it’s Nadaan Parindey or Jag Ghumeya. He has managed to balance poetically distinguished songs in mainstream Bollywood music. He has celebrated romance in all its shades, bring in the sufi spirituality and philosophy alike. Since a lot of youngsters relate to his songs, Kamil too takes his inspiration from them. “I interact a lot with students at Mumbai University while I pursue my study on Parsi language. I believe that youth like originality. They recognise poetry and appreciate it well,” he adds.

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