Aspiring lyricists should choose independent music: Hussain Haidry

Film lyricist Hussain Haidry has said that aspiring lyricists should opt for independent music to establish themselves in Bollywood.  

 “If you check Spotify’s top 100 list, all are not Bollywood songs there and if you want to make it big, I think you should go for independent music. There is a lot of space for independent artists in India nowadays,” Haidry told Patriot.

“Once you gain recognition through independent music, you can then approach different music and film directors,” said Haidry who has written the songs like Tu Chale Toh, Tanha Begum, Bahut Hua Samman, Haathapai, Bandar Baant, Waqt Ke Jungle, Dariya Hai, Pari among others.

Haidry mentioned that he has an old connection with Delhi. 

“When I decided to leave my job and pursue writing, a random thought came to my mind that I would have to understand Delhi first if I want to write for films. Then I shifted to Delhi with my friend for some time to understand the city,” he said.

“When my poem Hindustani Musalmaan went viral, I was invited to different events to recite it in the city. I made new friends in Delhi also,” he said before adding, “Almost every restaurant in the national capital offers the best quality of food. I love to have Chana Kulcha, Chhole Bhature whenever I visit the city.”

Regarding his much talked about poem Hindustani Musalmaan, Haidry, who is also a dialogue writer, said he wrote it while travelling to Bhutan in 2015.

“I had written it in my diary but I lost it. Since I remember its initial lines, I started rewriting it in 2016. It came out in a new form and incorporated a few of my past experiences,” Haidry said.        

“The thought behind the poem was that Muslims also have a religious, political, and linguistic identity,” said Haidry, a huge fan of late film lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi.

The 38-year-old lyricist said that initially he had no interest in becoming a writer. 

“I was working in a corporate house. However, I used to ponder what I would do with my life apart from my job. I used to read and write a lot of poetry and became friends with lyricist Varun Grover and screenwriter Gazal Dhaliwal. We used to recite our poetry in Mumbai in open mic sessions and Varun asked me to shift to Mumbai and write songs in films. When I shifted to Mumbai, I also learned about dialogue writing and Varun introduced me to film director Anurag Kashyap,” said Haidry who has written songs for films like Gurgaon, Qarib Qarib Single, Mukkabaaz, Sherni, Dobaara among others.

Reflecting his collaboration with filmmaker Anurag Kashyap on his two films — Mukkabaaz and Dobaara, he said, “There was no restriction while writing songs for Mukabaaz as Anurag Sir told me to write a song. He does not give you too many briefs, instead will tell you to write a song and give a situation. If you write a fabulous song, he will use it in the film.”

He called Qarib Qarib Single film director Tanuja Chandra her first mentor. 

“When I worked on her film, she trained me very well to write the lyrics. She told me that one has to write simple and beautifully,” said Haidry who reads poets like Nida Fazli, Munawwar Rana and Rahat Indori.

Haidry believes that a lyricist has to face various challenges while penning a song. 

“Sometimes you are given a confusing situation and you wonder what to write and sometimes the tune of the song is challenging. As a lyricist, one has to maintain the metre of writing and say things beautifully in a limited composition. Revision and changes are also a challenge,” said Haidry who has written the screenplay of web series Laakhon Mein Ek Season 2. 

The poet differentiates between writing a poem and lyrics. 

“In poems, a poet is free to write whatever he wants. He has complete authority to edit whatever he wants. But in songs, you are given a situation and the language has to be according to the character.  A music and film director takes a call on what to keep and what to edit. Lyricist is just a part of a product,” said Haidry who hails from Indore.

 When asked to comment on the new lyricists in the industry, he said, “If they are trained, their work will be visible.”