Gulzar, Ilayaraja come together after 26 years for 'SRK'

Mumbai, Feb 28 (IANS) The last time they worked together was in the 1983 movie 'Sadma'. Now, after 26 years, Gulzar is once again teaming up with Ilayaraja for 'SRK' and says the music maestro's ability to create 'perfect harmony' is still intact.

'The last time Ilayaraja and I came together was for Balu Mahendra's 'Sadma'. Now we're working together in another film after so many years,' Gulzar told IANS.

'His aptitude and skills for creating the perfect harmony have not altered at all. Ilayaraja is one of his kind. I wish he was heard more often in Hindi cinema,' said the lyricist, who has just won an Oscar for his song 'Jai ho' in 'Slumdog Millionaire'.

'SRK' is being directed by Ajay Varma, a descendant of the legendary painter Raja Ravi Varma. The film stars Vinay Pathak, Rituparna Sengupta and Manoj Joshi among others.

'It's interesting that Ajay Varma has made a film at just about the same time a film on the life of Raja Ravi Varma by Ketan Mehta is ready for release,' said Gulzar.

The poet is not too fond of the title though.

'The film is at the moment called SRK. Hopefully, it will change. What the film most certainly changes is the idiom of expression for film music. I feel Shaad Ali's 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom' and Anurag Kashyap's 'No Smoking' gave me a chance to experiment with words in a way that film music generally doesn't. Now I feel the same way about my poetry in 'SRK'.'