HYDERABAD: At Bhaskarabhatla Ravi Kumar’s home, surrounded by greenery at Kalyan Nagar, Hyderabad, we are welcomed with a smile and a breezy romantic track of Maestro Ilayaraja playing in the background. Does he start his day listening to soothing melodies? He says, “Yes, I feel blessed to be able to start my day with pleasant music. I am a simple man who tries to enjoy every moment of life working and spending time with my loved ones.”
Quiz him about his latest song Randali from Rajanikanth-starrer 2.0 and he opens up. “Lyricists not only play with words, but also invent them. It’s the job of a lyric writer to find the right word in the right place. Accurate selection of words is important to the context. So, I arrived with Randali and discovered a meaning to it which I don’t want to reveal now (laughs). The song describes two people who are on different wavelengths and depicts an ensuing battle between a group of three-inch robots (Rajanikanth) and a kite man (Akshay Kumar), who is determined to create mayhem in the city. So, it’s always fun being a songwriter.”
He adds, “I don’t want to write the lyrics in a jiffy as I haven’t written many songs for dubbed films. I took 20 days to write Randali. I feel like one needs that kind of a time to arrive at the write verses.”
Bhaskarabhatla says his wishes were fulfilled with 2.0. “I always had a dream to write a song for Rajnikanth, director Shankar and music composer AR Rahman. When the makers of 2.0 were looking for a lyric writer, music composer SS Thaman recommended my name to Shankar. I’m glad that my three wishes came true with 2.0.”
His flexibility and the fast pace he works at have made him a favourite with the directors too. His rapport with director Puri Jagannath is well-known. “Mehbooba will be his 29th film. I have written lyrics for 25 of his films,” he says adding, “I’m also writing a folk song in Trivikram Srinivas’s upcoming film starring Pawan Kalyan. The lyrics are catchy and I’m hoping that the world would sing it.”
Bhaskarabhatla says he is hyper sensitive and has his own creative impulses. He recounts an incident. “I saw a beggar eating food near Khairatabad flyover. He seemed so famished that he didn’t even stop eating when he had hiccups. Seeing his plight, I offered him a bottle of water. He gladly took it and thanked me from afar. That incident moved me and I wrote Oka lalana the same day. I’m an emotional person. I use my lyrics as a platform to highlight the emotions. For example, I wrote Oka lalana (Jyo Achyutananda) which sparkles with the simplicity of words and the luxury of emotions. There’s one lyric that goes “Manasunte maargamundadha, prathi manishi neeke chendada, e bandhame aadanandame, nuvvu mosukelle sampada. We bring nothing into the world and we take nothing back. So, one should value emotions and relationships.”
Is it true that lyricists are often not given enough time to pen a song? The 43-year-old songwriter explains, “We shouldn’t expect a lot of freedom from the makers. Nowadays films are being made at a brisk pace and producers are pumping in crores. One’s true potential comes out only if he works in withing the stipulated time.”
Bhaskarabhatla says that poetry is indeed dying in our films. “It’s been 17 years since I stepped into the industry and I’m evolving as a writer with time. Recently, I realised that it’s time for me to infuse poetry in my songs,” says Bhaskarabhatla, whose upcoming films include Pawan Kalyan’s 25th film, Jawaan, Jai Simha, Rajugadu and Mehbooba. He also expressed his disappointment over his 2016 song Oka lalana not figuring in the winners of Nandi awards announced recently. “I was hurt for being overlooked. But, I’m still happy that people have recognised my efforts and more than awards, it’s their rewards that matter to me a lot,” signs off the chilled out lyricist.