Words of wisdom

In an age where a large chunk of lyrics one is subjected to includes distinctly unpoetic objects like fevicol, zandu baam and the ilk, it takes a while to declutter and tune into the songs of Prasoon Joshi. His words make you breathe out...think tu dhoop hain, chham se bikhar. To be able to write songs about freedom, the irrepressible human spirit and faith that fuses the beloved and God into one, in today's world, must feel like a blessing to the poet-ad man- lyricist. “I do feel very lucky that I don't have to stoop to levels that make me uncomfortable. I'm able to do meaningful work that gives me joy,” Joshi says, adequately grateful.

The beauty of his imagery, he says, comes from a childhood spent in small towns. “I was born in the mountains. I have very fond memories of growing up there.” It is the innocence of nature he's seen so closely and the charm of an unfettered life that never fail to connect with his audience, he thinks. “However embroiled you become in your urban existence, at the end of the day, one yearns for sukoon (peace, relief). Everybody wants to come home, be with their family, children. The world has become very mechanised, but we will always want that organic connect with life. I feel blissful to be able to write about these things, and share it with others,” he says.

Joshi has now moved a step further, writing the script, screenplay and dialogues for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, a biopic on India's champion sportsman Milkha Singh. “I took two years to write the script. And I'd decided I wouldn't do the fourth thing for this film – write songs,” he tells us. But that feather too is already in his cap. How did he manage to do it? “On one level, it was easy, because I already was into the subject. On another level, it was a challenge because I had already written so much about it, what more could I say in the songs? So I took a break. I went into a different zone and wrote the songs quite late. I wanted the songs to add another dimension to the film,” he shares.

After giving so much of himself to the songs, doesn't it hurt that the lyrics sometimes are lost on the crowd if a film doesn't do well? “It surprises me, the way this equation works. I was disappointed when my songs for London Dreams, which I consider amongst my better work, didn't do well. But then, my work in Delhi 6 was appreciated in spite of the film not doing well. I think songs do have a life of their own,” he feels, adding, “Chittagong, for example, was a forgotten movie. But I got the National Award for my work in it. So I believe good work is good work.” He's also written songs for Satyagraha, Prakash Jha's next on the anti-corruption movement. “I had written the song Mashal as a response to the Anna Hazare movement and Prakash Jha picked it up for the film,” he informs. How the poet captures the angst, the young energy pouring out on the streets, in his words, should be something to look forward to. His tradition of bunking the trend, though, continues...