Mohsin Shaikh | Part of the Javed-Mohsin musical duo for Indian films, the lyricist and composer primarily works in Hindi cinema. He speaks with SUPRIYA RAMESH about an upcoming Indian sports action film Liger’s song Akdi Pakdi, how he co-composed it, the process of creating it and more. It is an upbeat track with the lead pair being Vijay Deverakonda & Ananya Pandey
Akdi Padki is an upbeat track with the lead pair being Vijay Deverakonda & Ananya Pandey. Tell us more about it.
Akdi Pakdi song’s supervisor Azeem Dayani and composer Lijo George with DJ Chetas were very keen on having quirky and heroism-themed lyrics. I have co-written this song with Dayani. Lyrics have a southern essence to them. The entire team behind creating this blockbuster is super talented. So far, we have received raving reviews for the song and I only hope that it attains more and more success.
There is a Telegu, Tamil, Malyalam and Kannada version of this song. Is the essence and meaning across all languages same?
It is my first multilingual song. And yes, the essence and meaning is same in all the languages. The Hindi lyrics being the main, have been translated into other languages while retaining the same meaning and thought. And each version in itself has been beautifully made.
How did you come up with the song?
I remember Dayani and I had written it last year during the lockdown with George & Chetas. We were on a conference call when the two came up with its tune and that’s when Dayani gave us the brief of what the makers of Liger are looking for. Subsequently, one thing lead to another and we all started jamming over that call.
‘Ek hi look mein, oh my darling main toh fly fly hogaya, jab se tune touch kiya yeh dil bhi shy shy hogaya’ is the first line we came up with, we all loved it and decided to go ahead with it. Even the director Puri Jagannadh and the producer of the film loved it.
Do you think the lyrics are as important as the composition of the song? What do you enjoy doing the most?
I personally believe that a good song is a combination of good lyrics and good composition. As an artist, I enjoy both equally.
The song has been received really well. How does it feel?
I am delighted that people are giving our song such a response. I am glad that they have appreciated the quirky lyrics written by us.
Akdi Pakdi has already made its way as a blockbuster and is topping all the charts in all languages.
How long did you both take to pen down the song ?
We both completed writing it in three to four hours as the brief of the song was extremely clear from the makers of the movie.
What else is in the pipeline?
I am coming up with more film and non-film music. This time I promise something interesting for movies and albums. If things go well, I might also collaborate with an international artist very soon.