Whether you’ve danced on tabletops to 'Aal Izz Well' as a college student, sought solace in 'Bavra Mann' on a lonely ride through a new city, or sighed dreamily at the flirtatious romance of 'Piyu Bole', one thing is certain that these songs penned and sung by Swanand Kirkire have touched our hearts and playlists.
“If it connects with you in a very honest space, it connects with everyone – that’s been my experience,” says Kirkire, reflecting on what it takes to make hits that connect generations. The lyricist, who was in the city for a session at the Bengaluru Poetry Festival, adds, “You cannot think of generations when you are writing songs. You are the people, and people are you. When you do something just to please others, you fail.”
Born in Indore, Kirkire’s first brush with writing did not come from poetry or lyrics but through plays. “I’m not one of those artistes who started writing since childhood – it is an acquired thing for me. When you are doing plays and you want a song but you don’t have anybody to write it for you – you just do it yourself,” he says. It was when Kirkire moved to Mumbai to work as an assistant director, still not considering a songwriting career, that his first big break, 'Bavra Mann', came about. A transcendental melody that captures the feeling of restless yearning and chasing dreams, the song from 'Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi' (2003) was deeply personal to Kirkire.
He still cannot explain its longstanding resonance, saying, “It’s a mystery to me. I don’t know how or why it came to me. It happened on a lonely night in Bombay – I was going in an auto rickshaw and laughing at myself, thinking ‘what am I doing?’ I’ve come with a dream to a big city with nothing in hand, I must be ‘bavra’ (crazy). But the rest of the song, I don’t know how it happened. Poetry comes from your subconscious mind.”
Listing his influences, ranging from Bob Dylan and The Beatles to Sahir Ludhianvi and Shailendra, the musician attributes growing up surrounded by classical music to fine-tuning this subconscious impulse, even though he is not classically trained. “Growing up in a musical family, I have music in my DNA. It’s a rhythmic sense that reflects in whatever art I do – prose, plays, lyrics, poems – and it has stayed with me even when I tried to move away from it.
Since 'Bavra Mann' to now, Kirkire has written several songs that went on to become people’s favourites, with recent hits, including 'Dheeme Dheeme' from 'Laapata Ladies' and 'Shauq' from 'Qala'. Many of Kirkire’s songs, like 'Chaar Kadam' and 'Monta Re', made long before reels and shorts, have seen a renewed presence through social media.
What does the senior artiste make of this? “I’m loving it,” he says, adding, “We didn’t know that this would happen someday. When we were writing these songs, we were creating them for a specific purpose, and it amazes me that it’s reaching so many, through people using it for their own expressions.”
He also notes some changes in the industry since reels became a medium which could turn a song into a hit, but notes that it isn’t all that easy to predict.
“First the avenue is created by people, and then the revenue people run behind it, and everyone wants to occupy that space. They start creating with what will work and what won’t work in mind, but the internet keeps surprising you – it’s a random song from nowhere that will become popular,” he laughs.