Mumbai, August 22 — Renowned lyricist and poet Prasoon Joshi recently opened up about the surprising role Amitabh Bachchan played in shaping his journey into Hindi cinema.
He revealed that a letter from the screen icon eventually helped connect him with filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi for ‘Lajja’.
Prasoon, who appeared alongside powerhouse playback singer Sunidhi Chauhan on the hotseat of Kaun Banega Crorepati, made the revelation while speaking to Big B about his early days as a writer.
Recalling how his journey into films began, Prasoon told Amitabh Bachchan, “Aapki wajah se maine filmon mein likhna shuru kiya. Aapne ek patra likha mujhe... Ek album maine kiya tha jismein ek geet tha 'Maati'. Us song ki wajah se Rajkumar Santoshi ji ne mujhe sampark kiya, 'Lajja' film ke liye. Woh mera pehla geet jo maine likha woh aapke wajah se... kyunki aapne unhe bataya ki koi vyakti likh raha hai Delhi mein, usko approach kiya jaye.”
(It was because of you that I started writing for films. You wrote a letter to me... I had done an album that featured a song called 'Maati'. Because of that song, Rajkumar Santoshi ji contacted me for the movie 'Lajja'. That first song I ever wrote was because of you, because you informed them that someone is writing in Delhi and should be approached)
The revelation shed light on the connection that brought Prasoon from the world of independent music and poetry in Delhi into mainstream Hindi cinema in Mumbai. His album featuring Maati caught attention and, following Amitabh’s recommendation, led Santoshi to approach him for his 2001 directorial Lajja.
The film which was touted as powerful, starred Manisha Koirala, Madhuri Dixit, Rekha and Mahima Chaudhry in key roles, and marked an important early milestone in Prasoon’s career as a Hindi film lyricist.
The conversation then also moved towards the changing nature of Hindi and the influence of newer words and forms of communication. Prasoon argued that Hindi has always been open to evolution, but said the main concern arises when new terminology completely replaces words that carry meaning and cultural resonance.
“Naye shabdon ka Hindi hamesha se swagat karti rahi hai, aur karna bhi chahiye. Lekin takleef tab hoti hai jab 'text' shabd Hindi shabd ki hatya karke aata hai,” he said.
(Hindi has always welcomed new words, and it should continue to do so. But the pain arises when the word 'text' comes in by killing a genuine Hindi word)
Elaborating on the distinction between “text” and “sandesh”, Prasoon said: “Text aur sandesh saath-saath rahein toh achhi baat hai. Lekin agar 'text' sandesh ki hatya karke aata hai, toh jahan sandeshey aate hain wahan toh sandeshey hi aate hain, wahan text kaise aayega? Hindi bhasha mein na ek mihanat hai, ek khanat hai. Agar yeh khamosh ho jaye toh woh dard chhod ke jaata hai, aur agar aap maun hote hain toh woh khanat chhod ke jaata hai. Bhasha toh maan hoti hai. Angrezi mein lakh hunar ho sakta hai, lekin bhasha toh Hindi hai, kyunki bhasha toh maa hoti hai.”
(If 'text' and 'message' co-exist, that’s fine. But if 'text' comes in after killing 'message' where messages usually arrive, only messages should arrive; how can 'text' replace it there? In the Hindi language, there is depth and resonance. If it goes silent, it leaves behind pain, and if you observe silence, it leaves behind resonance. Language holds immense pride. English may possess a hundred talents, but the true language is Hindi, because language is like a mother)