Javed Akhtar reveals that he wrote the evergreen song ‘Tumko Dekha Toh Yeh Khayal Aaya’ in 9 minutes, that too when he was 9 pegs down

By Fenil Seta -

December 31, 2023 - 9:50 AM IST

A strong crowd of more than 2000 people had a great time attending the show 'Main Koi Aisa Geet Gaoon'. Presented by Saregama, it featured Javed Akhtar narrating never-before-heard stories behind some of the classic songs he wrote. This was followed by Meiyang Chang and Jahnvi Shrimankar singing those songs. At the very beginning of the show, the legendary songwriter brought the house as he revealed the funny episode of writing the evergreen song 'Tumko Dekha Toh Yeh Khayal Aaya' from Saath Saath (1982).

Javed Akhtar reveals that he wrote the evergreen song ‘Tumko Dekha Toh Yeh Khayal Aaya’ in 9 minutes, that too when he was 9 pegs down

Javed Akhtar started writing lyrics after Yash Chopra coaxed him to do so for his film Silsila (1981). He said, “A film takes a lot of time to be made. When it releases after 1 ½ years, tab log bolte hai ‘Bahut acche dialogue likhe hai aapne’. Matlab dedh saal lag jaata hai taarif sunne mein! With song lyrics, you write the song, it’ll be recorded in 2 days and the same evening, you’ll get to hear praises! Hence, I started to enjoy writing lyrics. Yeh aasaan bhi hai aur isme taareef zyada hai!”

He then said how he came on board for Saath Saath saying, “Yash Chopra’s fourth assistant, Raman Kumar, a very talented man, approached me. He told me that he is making a small film and doesn’t have a huge budget. He told me ‘Main aapse free mein likhwana chahta hoon’!”

Javed Akhtar, in his trademark style, quipped, “Now, there could be two reasons why I wrote the songs for free. One is that I am kind-hearted and I felt that gareeb ki madat karna mera kartavya hai. The other reason could be that I was enjoying songwriting. Which reason you feel is correct, uspe aap tick mark kar dijiye!”

He continued, “You might be a very good person but when you do work for free, you take time! Those days, I used to drink extensively, that too every night. I had to deliver just one song. Raman used to come home every night and tell me, ‘Sir, woh ek gaana reh gaya tha’. I would reply, ‘Haan, bilkul’. Because of me, his liver also got affected!”

Javed Akhtar added, “Every night, I would tell him, ‘Kal tumhara gaana likhte hai’. The scenario would repeat every night. He had to catch a train. Hence, he used to check his watch (to ensure he doesn’t miss the last local train).”

The Padma Bhushan awardee continued to raise laughs as he stated, “One night, he told me, ‘Aaj toh der ho gayi. Kal pakka likh dena aap’. I was 8-9 pegs down and aise mein, confidence bada aa jaata hai! I told him ‘Abhi kar dete hai’. I asked him for pen and paper. He was checking his watch, to catch the train. Hence, I know how much time I took to write the song.”

Javed Akhtar amazed the crowd as he revealed, “Yeh gaana sirf 9 minute mein likha tha. That song ('Tumko Dekha Toh Yeh Khayal Aaya') became a hit and continues to be popular even today.” As expected, the audience couldn’t stop clapping.

Saath Saath starred Farooq Shaikh and Deepti Naval. Incidentally, it was edited by none other than David Dhawan.

Also Read: REVEALED: Javed Akhtar was paid a whopping Rs. 25 lakhs to write Dunki’s song ‘Nikle The Kabhi Hum Ghar Se’; is the HIGHEST fee charged by any lyricist ever