The release of Talking Songs in MumbaiJaved with Mira NairJaved with the Kal Ho Naa Ho team

Bollywood produces 500 films a year, about 10 of which are deemed commercial hits. Preceded by hit songs which actually help in making the film a success. Six or seven of such films have songs penned by Javed Akhtar.

Consider the most popular numbers over the past few years ? the title song from Kal Ho Naa Ho, Mitwa o mitwa (Lagaan), Yeh tara woh tara (Swades), Main aisa kyon hoon (Lakshya), Tere liye hum bhi jiye (Veer-Zaara), the qawwali in Main Hoon Na and the non-film chartbuster Breathless ? and the man behind these immortal words is Javed Akhtar.

These lyrics are hummed and sung by millions of Indians everyday, an overwhelming fact testifying to the role of Hindi film songs in our lives. A staggering achievement compounded further by the fact that the lyricist is also a front-ranking Urdu poet and co-scriptwriter of classics like Sholay, Zanjeer, Deewar and lately Lakshya.

Song-writing happened in an unplanned fashion. Javed was writing his Urdu poetry in the 70s and sharing his poetry with friends. Yash Chopra had heard his poetry and when Silsila was planned he asked him to pen the lyrics.

Initially reluctant, Javed consented and after meeting Shiv Kumar Sharma and Hariprasad Chaurasia, wrote the first song by the end of the day: Dekha ek khwab to ye silsiley huey.

His position as a lyricist was consolidated after the partnership with RD Burman in 1942: A Love Story which resulted in the classic numbers Ek ladki ko dekha and Kuch na kaho. Ek ladki... is a series of 21 romantic metaphors and arrived at with startling freshness in its imagery.

?Almost all film songs are about love,? says Javed, ?but the writing need not be cliched. There is always room for a new angle and a fresh metaphor.?

Consider his use of the moon as a symbol. An age-old romantic prop gets a quick makeover in Sapnay when he writes Chanda re chanda re kabhi to zameen pe aa, baithenge, baatein karengey.

Hindi film songs have been written by illustrious poets ? Sahir Ludhianvi, Shailendra, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Kaifi Azmi and Jan Nissar Akhtar. They represented the golden era of the 50s when Javed feels the best film songs were written. ?Poetry was superior and there were great partnerships with music composers like SD Burman. Those were the times when culture, decency and idealism prevailed. Those were the times of Jawaharlal Nehru. I still listen to the songs of the 50s and 60s, which remind me of more work to be done.?

When asked what the chief drive is behind such prolific song writing, Javed answers with characteristic humour, ?the fear of deadlines?. It?s true that some of his songs have been written in the shortest time spans. What comes first, the tune or the words? More often, Javed works with tunes given to him. Sitting in his study he puts thoughts on paper and creates poetry that is soon hummed by the people.

With great facility for words and an almost childlike imagination, Javed spans several worlds at the same time. He could be penning lyrics, writing Urdu poetry, writing an article for Communalism Combat, translating Tagore to write the science anthem (Matrimandiro punya angana) and creating a moving poem for the tsunami disaster. I have often been witness to this phenomenal process of writing.

Film songs are transnational at both the stages of genesis and consumption. Javed?s songs are written literally around the world ? in his study at six in the morning, in friends? homes, in his car as he rushes for a meeting with the director, in my car as we drive through the streets of London, on flights as he zaps from one city to another. Sitting alone, he mulls over words, says them aloud over and over again, as if weighing the syllables and entering into a relationship with them.

His partnership with younger music makers like A. R. Rahman and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy reflect his desire to be in touch with contemporary minds and tastes. Excited as a child over sports and science, sometimes wilful, certified by friends as the wittiest man in the country, Javed is a much-loved personality. The phenomenal turnout at his recent birthday bash was testimony to the enormous goodwill that the man enjoys in the industry where he has worked for 40 years.

Film songs are not all entertainment, they are extensions of centuries of oral history as well as Urdu Parsee Theatre traditions. Songs establish character (Main aisa kyon hoon from Lakshya), are dialogic (Agar main kahoon from Lakshya, Jaane kyun log pyaar karte hain in Dil Chahta Hai) or often philosophical (Har ghari badal rahi hai dhoop zindagi from Kal Ho Naa Ho).

Wife Shabana?s plan for a birthday present was a book on Javed?s songs. Talking Songs has been published by Oxford and starts off with a most informative and entertaining analysis of Hindi film songs. How the language in lyrics has moved from rural roots to urban, how moods are created through the magical weave of poetry, how idioms have changed through the generations, how distinct the old masters were.

The bonus is, of course, 60 selected songs translated in English ? a book that will grab the attention of media students, musicians, historians and will prove a good read for all.

As Javed concludes: ?The best songs are those that evoke moods, touch a chord and trigger memories in the heart of the listener.?

Sangeeta Datta is a film-maker and film-writer.