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Lyricist, by chance – Niranjan Iyengar
His next release will be My Name Is Khan An ex-journalist, Kurbaan's lyricist Niranjan Iyengar says writing lyrics was an accident. What started as dummy lyrics for My Name Is Khan was appreciated so much so that Karan Johar decided to let him write lyrics for Kurbaan.
A reporter, costume designer, dialogue writer and now a lyricist, Niranjan says that he is today a writer only because he became familiar with the process of filmmaking through his foray in journalism. A man who has always followed his passion, Niranjan is always on the roll to explore new avenues; his latest is to sing at least one Sufi song well by the time he dies, and he is working on that since five years now.
In conversation with this gifted multi-talented writer and lyricist, we get to know how he laughs off questions on his ability to grasp Hindi so well despite being a Tamilian, and on exploring an exciting form of expression through lyric writing.
Tell us about your journey from film journalism to being a writer and a lyricist now.
It has been a long but interesting journey. I started with 'g' magazine as a reporter and quit from the assistant editor's position after being with them for six years. I joined Manish Malhotra after that and was associated with him on costume designing for about three years. Then, I wrote a book on the making of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and finally made an entry into dialogue writing through Kal Ho Naa Ho and Jism in 2003. My foray into writing songs was quite accidental.
Please elaborate.
I wrote the dummy lyrics for a song in My Name Is Khan which was liked by Shankar Mahadevan and Karan Johar and they decided to retain the song. Then I wrote two more songs. Around the same time, Salim-Sulaiman were working on Kurbaan and Karan wanted me to try my hand with those tracks. And my journey continued...
Tell us about your tryst as a fashion designer with Manish Malhotra.
Manish Malhotra is a very close friend of mine and his contribution to my life cannot be restricted to any one area. However, working with him really gave me a great insight into how the film industry functions. Having been a journalist before that, I only had the outsider's perspective to the process. I got a closer look at the anxiety, insecurity and the euphoria of the business when I worked with him. He is also very astute and has a keen sense of commercial cinema and that helped me a lot in looking at things differently.
How tough is it to be a lyricist?
I guess I will know now. These initial songs have flowed out of me after years of listening to music. If I am able to continue writing meaningful songs for years, like Gulzarsaab or Javedsaab, then I will also deserve to be called a lyricist. I don't qualify to be called a lyricist in the true sense just yet! Right now, it's an exciting form of expression and I'm exploring it to the best of my ability.
What inspires you as a lyricist?
Inspiration is an unpredictable and impulsive phenomenon. I can't say there are one or two or 13 things that inspire me. Each song has its own inspiration. My Name Is Khan has a beautiful Sufi sound to its music. The compositions in themselves were very inspirational. The story too lent itself to that kind of devotional words. In Kurbaan, the story of the film was largely instrumental in creating the lyrics. There's so much doom, despair and intensity to the love story and Salim Merchant has a grip on that kind of sound. So I guess things just fell into place.
His next release will be My Name Is Khan
Tell us about your interest in singing, especially Sufi songs.
I heard the first strains of Sufi music in 2002 when I was working on Jism. Director Amit Saxena introduced me to Jaffar Khan Badauni's qawwalis. A week later I heard Abida Parveen and I knew I had to make this music a part of me. I looked around for an ustaad to teach me qawwali but couldn't find one.
When I was working on Paap, Pooja's (Bhatt) husband Munna (Munish Makhija) introduced me to Rahat (Fateh Ali Khan). He suggested that I should first learn Hindustani classical music and then go on to specialise in qawwalis. That's when I started learning classical music. It's been over five years now and I am blessed to have a great guru who is patient with me. I hope I'm able to sing at least one Sufi song well before I die!
What role did Karan Johar play in inspiring you to write your first dialogues and lyrics?
It's remarkable how Karan has always seen potential in me in areas that I didn't imagine I had anything to offer. He told me to write the dialogues for Kal Ho Naa Ho and gave me the first song to write lyrics for. He has always offered me a platform to push myself to create more. I'm blessed to have friends like Karan and Pooja Bhatt who have always encouraged me to do more even when I feel lazy to push myself!
Which movie has better lyrics – Kurbaan or My Name Is Khan?
Honestly, I can't say. The songs in My Name Is Khan will always be special because they were the first ones I wrote but looking at the reaction to Kurbaan, I feel they are equally special because they were the first ones to release!
Who is your favourite lyricist today?
Undoubtedly Gulzarsaab! He has always been my favourite lyricist. I also love the songs written by Sayeed Quadri, who I think is underrated. His thoughts on love and self destruction are wonderful in some songs!
How did you acquire mastery over the Hindustani language despite being a Tamilian?
I'm asked this question all the time and my stock response is that my command over Hindi or Urdu is not that good. However, the average Hindi that is spoken around these days is so bad that mine seems good in comparison.
How did being a journalist help you in your transition?
In many ways. I became familiar with the process of filmmaking through my foray in journalism. I made some very good friends in the film industry through my job at 'g'. I learnt certain strong basic rules of journalism from Bhawna Somaya (film journalist and editor) which help me even today in dealing with people in the business. And all of these factors have helped me conduct my professional career as well as my personal relationships with dignity.
Do you write lyrics first or fit them to the tunes of the composer?
I have only written 12 songs so far and out of them 11 and a half have been written to pre-composed tunes. I wrote the second antara of 'Kurbaan Hua' (the title track of Kurbaan), as a couplet and then Salim composed it.
Do you feel lyrics today has degenerated from the Chaudhvin Ka Chand times?
I won't use the word degenerated because that would be judgemental. I would say they have changed. Whether for the better or worse is a matter of debate and will depend on personal taste; but in my opinion, language itself has really changed its form in the last 30 years. Films, songs and poetry are all expressions of the existing times. Cinema, art and people were far more innocent in those years and hence that reflected in everything we did. Today, times are different.
Do you have any plans to take up either direction or music direction?
Not at the moment. I'm still nurturing myself and don't feel confident enough to direct a film. As far as composing music goes, I think that will take at least another 30 years
His next release will be My Name Is Khan An ex-journalist, Kurbaan's lyricist Niranjan Iyengar says writing lyrics was an accident. What started as dummy lyrics for My Name Is Khan was appreciated so much so that Karan Johar decided to let him write lyrics for Kurbaan.
A reporter, costume designer, dialogue writer and now a lyricist, Niranjan says that he is today a writer only because he became familiar with the process of filmmaking through his foray in journalism. A man who has always followed his passion, Niranjan is always on the roll to explore new avenues; his latest is to sing at least one Sufi song well by the time he dies, and he is working on that since five years now.
In conversation with this gifted multi-talented writer and lyricist, we get to know how he laughs off questions on his ability to grasp Hindi so well despite being a Tamilian, and on exploring an exciting form of expression through lyric writing.
Tell us about your journey from film journalism to being a writer and a lyricist now.
It has been a long but interesting journey. I started with 'g' magazine as a reporter and quit from the assistant editor's position after being with them for six years. I joined Manish Malhotra after that and was associated with him on costume designing for about three years. Then, I wrote a book on the making of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and finally made an entry into dialogue writing through Kal Ho Naa Ho and Jism in 2003. My foray into writing songs was quite accidental.
Please elaborate.
I wrote the dummy lyrics for a song in My Name Is Khan which was liked by Shankar Mahadevan and Karan Johar and they decided to retain the song. Then I wrote two more songs. Around the same time, Salim-Sulaiman were working on Kurbaan and Karan wanted me to try my hand with those tracks. And my journey continued...
Tell us about your tryst as a fashion designer with Manish Malhotra.
Manish Malhotra is a very close friend of mine and his contribution to my life cannot be restricted to any one area. However, working with him really gave me a great insight into how the film industry functions. Having been a journalist before that, I only had the outsider's perspective to the process. I got a closer look at the anxiety, insecurity and the euphoria of the business when I worked with him. He is also very astute and has a keen sense of commercial cinema and that helped me a lot in looking at things differently.
How tough is it to be a lyricist?
I guess I will know now. These initial songs have flowed out of me after years of listening to music. If I am able to continue writing meaningful songs for years, like Gulzarsaab or Javedsaab, then I will also deserve to be called a lyricist. I don't qualify to be called a lyricist in the true sense just yet! Right now, it's an exciting form of expression and I'm exploring it to the best of my ability.
What inspires you as a lyricist?
Inspiration is an unpredictable and impulsive phenomenon. I can't say there are one or two or 13 things that inspire me. Each song has its own inspiration. My Name Is Khan has a beautiful Sufi sound to its music. The compositions in themselves were very inspirational. The story too lent itself to that kind of devotional words. In Kurbaan, the story of the film was largely instrumental in creating the lyrics. There's so much doom, despair and intensity to the love story and Salim Merchant has a grip on that kind of sound. So I guess things just fell into place.
His next release will be My Name Is Khan
Tell us about your interest in singing, especially Sufi songs.
I heard the first strains of Sufi music in 2002 when I was working on Jism. Director Amit Saxena introduced me to Jaffar Khan Badauni's qawwalis. A week later I heard Abida Parveen and I knew I had to make this music a part of me. I looked around for an ustaad to teach me qawwali but couldn't find one.
When I was working on Paap, Pooja's (Bhatt) husband Munna (Munish Makhija) introduced me to Rahat (Fateh Ali Khan). He suggested that I should first learn Hindustani classical music and then go on to specialise in qawwalis. That's when I started learning classical music. It's been over five years now and I am blessed to have a great guru who is patient with me. I hope I'm able to sing at least one Sufi song well before I die!
What role did Karan Johar play in inspiring you to write your first dialogues and lyrics?
It's remarkable how Karan has always seen potential in me in areas that I didn't imagine I had anything to offer. He told me to write the dialogues for Kal Ho Naa Ho and gave me the first song to write lyrics for. He has always offered me a platform to push myself to create more. I'm blessed to have friends like Karan and Pooja Bhatt who have always encouraged me to do more even when I feel lazy to push myself!
Which movie has better lyrics – Kurbaan or My Name Is Khan?
Honestly, I can't say. The songs in My Name Is Khan will always be special because they were the first ones I wrote but looking at the reaction to Kurbaan, I feel they are equally special because they were the first ones to release!
Who is your favourite lyricist today?
Undoubtedly Gulzarsaab! He has always been my favourite lyricist. I also love the songs written by Sayeed Quadri, who I think is underrated. His thoughts on love and self destruction are wonderful in some songs!
How did you acquire mastery over the Hindustani language despite being a Tamilian?
I'm asked this question all the time and my stock response is that my command over Hindi or Urdu is not that good. However, the average Hindi that is spoken around these days is so bad that mine seems good in comparison.
How did being a journalist help you in your transition?
In many ways. I became familiar with the process of filmmaking through my foray in journalism. I made some very good friends in the film industry through my job at 'g'. I learnt certain strong basic rules of journalism from Bhawna Somaya (film journalist and editor) which help me even today in dealing with people in the business. And all of these factors have helped me conduct my professional career as well as my personal relationships with dignity.
Do you write lyrics first or fit them to the tunes of the composer?
I have only written 12 songs so far and out of them 11 and a half have been written to pre-composed tunes. I wrote the second antara of 'Kurbaan Hua' (the title track of Kurbaan), as a couplet and then Salim composed it.
Do you feel lyrics today has degenerated from the Chaudhvin Ka Chand times?
I won't use the word degenerated because that would be judgemental. I would say they have changed. Whether for the better or worse is a matter of debate and will depend on personal taste; but in my opinion, language itself has really changed its form in the last 30 years. Films, songs and poetry are all expressions of the existing times. Cinema, art and people were far more innocent in those years and hence that reflected in everything we did. Today, times are different.
Do you have any plans to take up either direction or music direction?
Not at the moment. I'm still nurturing myself and don't feel confident enough to direct a film. As far as composing music goes, I think that will take at least another 30 years
Anupamaa
