A beautiful and effective song is a perfect blend of mesmerising music as well as captivating lyrics. Without good lyrics, even good music may not sound as appealing and vice versa. One of the most revered lyricists in Bollywood, Gulzar has penned lyrics for some of the best melodies in the Hindi film industry. One movie that we worked on was Mani Ratnam’s film Dil Se starring Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Manisha Koirala. The film was released in 1998 and featured superhit songs like Chal Chhaiyan Chhaiyan and Jiya Jale Jaan Jale.
AR Rahman, who is a frequent collaborator of Mani Ratnam, came back to compose the music for him, after the previous Roja and Bombay. The song JIya Jale was picturised by Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta and was based on the first night after marriage. It is imperative to note that Gulazar penned words that made the song sensuous but steered clear of any sort of vulgarity.
The song Jiya Jale was the first time AR Rahman collaborated with Lata Mangeshkar, having worked with her sister Asha Bhosle in Rangeela before. In a conversation with Nasreen Munni Kabir, who has written a book on Gulzar’s songs, the lyricist says, “I composed this song to capture the emotions of the bride on her wedding night. Although there was not even a single word vulgar or obscene in this song because I also knew that if there was even one obscene word in the song, Lata ji would not sing the song.”
Dil Se was the last among what was called Mani Ratnam’s terrorist trilogy of Roja, Bombay and Dil Se. Dil Se, however, unexpectedly flopped at the box office. According to Box Office India, the film made with a budget of Rs 11 crore had earned Rs 18 crore in India. However, over time, Dil Se has received more positive reviews from contemporary critics as is now considered a cult film that was ahead of its time.
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