Madhuri Dixit has made a mark in the film industry with her exceptional acting and memorable dance sequences. Recently, Javed Akhtar recalled that he came across the idea of writing the lyrics for the actress’s popular song Ek do Teen in a unique way. It happened when he suddenly heard music director Laxmikant humming a catchy tune using numbers, and he liked it to the extent that he wrote a song based on it.
Javed Akhtar recently sat down for a conversation with writer-director Roshan Abbas at the Repertwahr Season 12 cultural festival held in Lucknow. During the conversation, he shared interesting anecdotes from his experience writing different songs, including the Bollywood song Ek Do Teen from Tezaab (1988), picturized on Madhuri Dixit.
The lyricist explained that he was asked to write a song suitable for a nautanki-style set up with a rustic and theatrical performance style. Since the setting was unique, he was confused and thought that he should write something in Ghalib’s style to match the song’s vibe.
He shared, “The brief for this song was that it was set in a nautanki type of setup. As a writer, I could not have written a song in Ghalib style for such a sequence. It had to match the setting of a typical rustic atmosphere of a nautanki. We were in a dilemma about what kind of song to write.”
While thinking about how to go about it, the film’s music director, Laxmikant, shared an interesting observation he made with Akhtar. He mentioned that the music director demonstrated a tune he heard on the banjo during a Ganpati puja pandal by reciting numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.
Javed explained, “He sang the tune with dummy lyrics, using numbers, ‘1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.’ I liked it so much that I said, ‘Why not use it as it is?'”
Initially, Laxmikant was hesitant and worried audiences might mock the song due to its overly simple lyrics. Also, they might think that he made the song by mistake. But, the Sholay writer was confident that he could write it creatively with emotional depth using numbers. As a result, they came up with Ek Do Teen, a chartbuster and cultural sensation, while Madhuri Dixit’s dance made it more memorable.
