Farhad Samji may be known today 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, writing 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’, a film originally conceived with Shah Rukh Khan in mind.
Farhad Samji recalls ‘Munna Bhai MBBS’ with Shah Rukh Khan
Recalling how the opportunity came, Samji said, “A situation came up with Anu Malik for Munna Bhai. One night at around 10 pm, 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 go together and play it for them.’ And that opportunity I will not miss.”He added, “At that time, I was told that Shah Rukh Khan was the hero. If you know, Munna Bhai was originally Shah Rukh’s hero, not Sanjay Dutt. They told me, ‘This is a tapori character. So I wrote, ‘M bole to Master mein Master, B bole to Bindass Doctor, S bole to Shaana Character.’ I gave them the mukhda, played it for them, and they loved it, obviously.“
Farhad Samji remembers interacting with: Amitabh Bachchan
Samji also recalls a memorable interaction with Amitabh Bachchan while working on the title track of ‘Bol Bachchan’, which required the veteran actor to do 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 bad habit. I do everything with a little imitation and by changing my tone. That way, everyone can really feel it. Like the opening title of the Bol Bachchan song. I told Bachchan saab, ‘Sir, you have it in the beginning. Said he, ‘Kya-kya boy?'” (What should I say?)Samji then recited the rap he had written for the actor, “Debating the diabolic diagnosis of decisive deliverance, papad is a rhythmic rhyme replica of jhaapad, where one pleases your hunger and the other pleases your anger. Similarly, Bachchan is a rhyme replica of ‘Bol Bachchan’, where one represents a big name while the other represents a terrible game, game, game.”He remembers Bachchan’s reaction with a straight face, “At this age, you’re making me do all this, miyan?”Recalling his reaction at that moment, Samji added, “And then you stop looking away, thinking, ‘Oh yaar, how can I make eye contact now?'”Samji shared that a similar incident happened when he first narrated Chennai Express to Shah Rukh Khan. The 2013 film, which he co-wrote with Rohit Shetty, marked a shift towards full-on comedy for the superstar.“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 primarily 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 it all. In fact, I remember when I gave him the first narration. I did it in my usual style.”Recalling Shah Rukh’s response, Samji said, “I went and asked, ‘Sir, shall I start?’ He said, ‘Yes, go ahead.’ I hadn’t gone 40 seconds when he stopped me. ‘What is this? Why are you imitating me?’ I said, ‘Sir, this is all I can tell you.'”
Farhad Samji’s recent work
Farhad Samji last directed Salman Khan-starrer ‘Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan’. Recently, he wrote the dialogues for ‘Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai’ and ‘Welcome to the Jungle’.