Did you know Javed Akhtar was told to make song for ‘nautanki’ set up when he wrote Madhuri Dixit’s Ek Do Teen? Here’s what happened

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Madhuri Dixit has left an indelible impression in the movie world through her outstanding acting performances and iconic dance scenes. Not long ago, Javed Akhtar shared a fascinating story about how he came up with the lyrics for one of her most famous songs, “Ek do Teen.” This creative process occurred when he overheard music director Laxmikant humming a catchy tune that incorporated numbers, and he was so drawn to it that he wrote an entire song based on this numerical melody.

Recently, Javed Akhtar engaged in a chat with filmmaker Roshan Abbas at the Repertwahr Season 12 cultural event in Lucknow. During this talk, he reminisced about various stories from his songwriting journey, including the popular Bollywood tune “Ek Do Teen” from Tezaab (1988), which was filmed featuring Madhuri Dixit.

The songwriter shared that he was tasked to compose a song fitting for a nautanki-style production, characterized by its rural and dramatic presentation. Given the distinctive environment, he felt perplexed and contemplated writing in a manner similar to Ghalib, to align with the song’s atmosphere.

He mentioned that the theme for this particular song was supposed to be based on a nautanki-like environment. As a writer, it wouldn’t have been suitable to compose a Ghalib-style song for such a scenario. Instead, the song needed to reflect the usual rural ambiance of a nautanki performance. We found ourselves debating the appropriate type of song to create for this purpose.

As they pondered over the approach, the film’s composer, Laxmikant, brought up an intriguing insight he had discussed with Akhtar. He recalled that the composer had mimicked a melody he heard on a banjo during a Ganpati festival pandal by chanting numbers like 1, 2, 3, 4 and so forth.

Javed shared that he sung a tune with placeholder lyrics made of numbers, like “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.” I found it quite appealing and suggested, “Why don’t we keep it just like that?

At first, Laxmikant felt apprehensive because people might ridicule the song for its seemingly straightforward lyrics. He even feared that they might assume he wrote it unintentionally. However, the writer of Sholay was certain he could infuse creativity and emotional depth into the song using numbers. This led to the creation of Ek Do Teen, a massive hit and cultural phenomenon. Additionally, Madhuri Dixit’s dance made the song even more unforgettable.

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2025-01-06 16:07