Farhad Samji now he may be known as a filmmaker, having directed films like ‘Housefull 4’, ‘Bachchhan Paandey’ and ‘Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan’, but he started his career as a music composer, composing more than 100 songs. In a conversation with Siddharth Kannan recently, Samji recalled how he composed the famous song ‘M Bole To’ for ‘Munna Bhai MBBS’, a film originally produced by. Shah Rukh Khan in the mind.
Farhad Samji remembers ‘Munna Bhai MBBS’ with Shah Rukh Khan
Recalling how the opportunity happened, Samji said, “A situation came with Anu Malik to Munna Bhai. One night around 10 pm, Anu Malik called me and said, ‘Tomorrow Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Raju Hirani are coming to stay.’ Make a mukhda (opening ban) of something, and we will put it together and play with it.’ And I did not miss that opportunity.He added, “At that time, I was told that Shah Rukh Khan was a soldier. If you know, Munna Bhai was originally supposed to star Shah Rukh, not Sanjay Dutt. They told me, ‘It’s a tapori character. Since you write well, add a few English words to the tapori language to match Shah Rukh’s image.’ That’s why I wrote, ‘M bole to Master mein Master, B bole to Bindass Doctor, S bole to Shaana Character.’ I gave them the mukhda, played it, and they liked it, obviously.“
Farhad Samji remembers chatting with Amitabh Bachchan
Samji also recalled his experience with Amitabh Bachchan while working on the theme song of ‘Bol Bachchan’, which required the veteran actor to rap.“I wrote the theme song of ‘Bol Bachchan’, for Bachchan saab. We went to him and played it for him. In fact, I have a very bad habit. I do everything with a little imitation and change my tone. That way, everyone can hear it really. Like the opening of Bol Bachchan’s theme song. I was telling Bachchan saab at first, ‘We can’t say that,’ He said, ‘Kya-kya batao?'” (Say what?)Samji then recited a rap he wrote for the actor, “Discussing the devil’s disease to be saved, papad is a song similar to jhaapad, where one rejoices in your hunger and the other rejoices in your anger.” Similarly, Bachchan is the epitome of ‘Bol Bachchan’, where one stands for the big name while the other stands for the horror game, game, game. “He recalled Bachchan’s reaction with a straight face, “At this age, you are making me do all this, miyan?”Recalling what he did at that time, Samji added, “Then you just look away, and think, ‘Oh yaar, how can I look you in the eye now?'”Samji shared that the same thing happened in his first episode of Chennai Express for Shah Rukh Khan. The 2013 film, which he co-wrote with Rohit Shetty, marked a complete change in the actor’s acting.“With ‘Chennai Express’, Shah Rukh was acting outside and outside for the first time. Yes, he had done comedies before, but for a long time his image was mainly that of a romantic hero. Then came Chennai Express, entering the world of Rohit Shetty and Farhad Samji, where he was ready to do both. In fact, I remember when I told him the first story. I did as usual.”Recalling Shah Rukh’s response, Samji said, “I went and asked, ‘Sir, should I start?’ He said, ‘Yes, go ahead.’ I wasn’t even 40 seconds in when he stopped me. ‘What is this? Why are you imitating me?’ I said, ‘Lord, this is how I explain it.
Latest works of Farhad Samji
Farhad Samji directed the Salman Khan starrer ‘Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan’. Recently, he has written dialogues for ‘Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai’ and ‘Welcome to the Jungle’.
