Farhad Samji He may be best known now as a filmmaker, having directed films like Housefull 4, Bachchhan Paandey and Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, but he started his career as a lyricist, having composed more than 100 songs. In a recent conversation with Siddharth Kannan, Samji recalled how he composed the iconic ‘M Bole To’ track for ‘Munna Bhai MBBS’, which was originally produced with Shah Rukh Khan remember.
Farhad Samji recalls ‘Munna Bhai MBBS’ with Shah Rukh Khan
Recalling how the opportunity came about, Samji said, “Anu Malik of Munna Bhai came across a situation. One night around 10 pm, Anu Malik called me and said, ‘Tomorrow Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Raju Hirani are coming to sit down. Come up with a mukhda (opening chorus) for something and we’ll improvise it to them together. “I couldn’t pass up this opportunity.”He added, “At that time, I was told that Shah Rukh Khan was the hero. If you know, Munna Bhai was supposed to star Shah Rukh, not Sanjay Dutt. They told me, ‘It’s a Tabori character. Since you have written it well, add some English words in the Tabori language so that it balances with Shah Rukh’s portrayal. bole to Shaana Character.” I gave them that mukhda, played it for them, and obviously they loved it.“
Farhad Samji recalls working with Amitabh Bachchan
Samji also recalled a memorable interaction with Amitabh Bachchan while working on the title song of “Bol Bachchan”, which required the veteran actor to perform a rap.“I wrote the title song of ‘Bol Bachchan’ for Bachchan saab. We went to him and played it for him. Actually, I have a very bad habit. I perform everything with a little imitation and changing my tone. That way, everyone can really feel it. Like the beginning of the Bol Bachchan title song. I told Bachchan saab, ‘Sir,’ I started saying?Samji then recited a rap he wrote for the actor, “A debate on the diabolical diagnosis of decisive release, a papad is a rhythmic rhyming replica of jhaapad, one of which enjoys your hunger and the other your rage.” Likewise, Bachchan is a rhyming copy of “Bol Bachchan,” one representing a generous name and the other representing a terrible game, game, game. “He remembered Bachchan’s stern reaction, “At this age, you still let me do all this, Miyan?”Recalling his reaction, Samji added, “And then you eventually look away and think, ‘Oh, yeah, how am I going to make eye contact now?'”Samji said a similar incident happened when he first told Shah Rukh Khan about the Chennai Express. The 2013 film, which he co-wrote with Rohit Shetty, marked the superstar’s transition into mature comedy.“With ‘Chennai Express’, Shah Rukh did an out-and-out comedy for the first time. Of course, he had done comedies before, but for a long time his image was mainly that of a romantic hero. Then ‘Chennai Express’ came, stepping into the world of Rohit Shetty and Farhad Samji, where he was ready for it all. In fact, I remember when I gave him my first narrative. I performed it in my usual style. “Samji recalled Shah Rukh’s response, saying, “I went and asked, ‘Sir, can I start?’ and he said, ‘Yes, go ahead.’ I only spoke for 40 seconds when he stopped me.” ‘What’s this? Why are you imitating me? I said, ‘Sir, this is my narrative. ‘”
Farhad Samji’s recent works
Farhad Samji last directed the film Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan starring Salman Khan. Recently, he wrote dialogues for Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai and Welcome to the Jungle.
