Farhad Samji may now be known as a filmmaker, having directed films such as ‘Housefull 4’, ‘Bachchhan Paandey’ and ‘Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan’, but he began his career as a lyricist, writing more than 100 songs. In a recent conversation with Siddharth Kannan, Samji recalled how he came up with the iconic ‘M Bole To’ track for ‘Munna Bhai MBBS’, a film that was initially being developed with Shah Rukh Khan in mind.
Farhad Samji recalls ‘Munna Bhai MBBS’ with Shah Rukh Khan
Recalling how the opportunity came his way, Samji said, “A situation came up with Anu Malik for Munna Bhai. One night at around 10 p.m., Anu Malik called me and said, ‘Tomorrow Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Raju Hirani are coming for a sitting. Make a mukhda (opening refrain) for something, and we’ll jam together and play it for them.’ And that opportunity I could not miss.”He added, “At that time, I was told that Shah Rukh Khan was the hero. If you know, Munna Bhai was originally supposed to star Shah Rukh, not Sanjay Dutt. They told me, ‘It’s a tapori character. Since you write well, add a few English words to the tapori language so it balances with the image of Shah Rukh.’ So that’s why I wrote, ‘M bole to Master mein Master, B bole to Bindass Doctor, S bole to Shaana Character.’ I gave them that mukhda, played it for them, and they liked it, obviously.“
Farhad Samji recalls interaction with Amitabh Bachchan
Samji also recalled a memorable interaction with Amitabh Bachchan while working on the title track of ‘Bol Bachchan’, which required the veteran actor to perform a rap.“I wrote the title song for ‘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 bit of mimicry and by changing my tone. That way, everyone can really feel it. Like the opening of the Bol Bachchan title song. I was telling Bachchan saab, ‘Sir, you have to say this at the beginning.’ He said, ‘Kya-kya batao?'” (What all should I say? )Samji then recited the rap he had written for the actor, “Debating on the diabolic diagnosis of decisive deliverance, a papad is a rhythmic rhyme replica of jhaapad, where one relishes your hunger and the other relishes your anger. Similarly, Bachchan is a rhyme replica of ‘Bol Bachchan’, where one represents a magnanimous name while the other represents a horrendous game, game, game.”He remembered Bachchan’s reaction with a straight face, “At this age, you’re making me do all this, miyan?”Recalling how he reacted in that moment, Samji added, “And then you end up looking away, thinking, ‘Oh yaar, how do I even make eye contact now?'”Samji shared that a similar incident took place during his first narration of Chennai Express to Shah Rukh Khan. The 2013 film, which he co-wrote with Rohit Shetty, marked a shift towards full-fledged comedy for the superstar.“With ‘Chennai Express’, Shah Rukh was doing an out-and-out comedy for the first time. Of course, he had done comedies before, but for a long time his image had primarily been that of a romantic hero. Then came Chennai Express, stepping into the world of Rohit Shetty and Farhad Samji, where he was ready to do all of this. In fact, I remember when I gave him the very first narration. I performed it in my usual style.”Recalling Shah Rukh’s response, Samji said, “I went and asked, ‘Sir, shall I begin?’ He said, ‘Yes, go ahead.’ I had barely gone 40 seconds into it when he stopped me. ‘What is this? Why are you mimicking me?’ I said, ‘Sir, this is just how I narrate.'”
Farhad Samji’s recent work
Farhad Samji last directed Salman Khan-starrer ‘Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan’. More recently, he wrote the dialogues for ‘Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai’ and ‘Welcome to the Jungle’.