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His endearing scripts and lyrics propelled him to celebrity status in Bollywood. Always eager to push the envelope, Javed Akhtar has now put his voice to the test, quite literally.
For the first time, the lyricist and scriptwriter has sung a song, Kheera aur beera, for the children's video album Hip Hip Hurray. The song was recorded on Tuesday within three hours.
"You cannot call that singing. I'm merely reciting lines," says Akhtar when we ask him about his new avatar. On prodding further, he says,
"It's not quite singing but something like it. This has been a new experience for me as I have not worked on a children's project before.
Producer Kirit Shah, who is extremely passionate about this project, approached me for singing the song. His enthusiasm was contagious and I was affected by it. I am happy to have played a role in this project," he says.
Akhtar has played a leading role — he has penned the eight songs in the video album. "The lyrics tell different stories with messages. The characters in the songs come from the tales I had heard during my childhood," informs Akhtar, who is also excited about the eight animation films that make up Hip Hip Hurray. "They are very good," he assures.
For that, credit must go to Kolkata-based film designer-cum-animator Rajesh Chakraborty, who has directed the videos. "We felt that animation would add a new dimension to this video album. It brings in the novelty factor. We have used classical animation, 3-D animation and flash animation to conjure up stories that border on fantasy. There is no live action in the video album," he says.
While Shaan and Kavita Krishnamurthy have sung the songs, Nishith Mehta has composed the music for the album.
