My partnership with Vidhu Vinod Chopra was very successful: Swanand Kirkire

| Updated: 17 January, 2024 6:26 pm IST

NEW DELHI: Swanand Kirkire, renowned Hindi cinema lyricist, actor, and more, traces his journey from a vacuum cleaner salesman in Indore to a celebrated figure in Bollywood. During the exclusive interview with The New Indian‘s Executive Editor Rohan Dua, he explores his childhood, family, education, and the influences that fueled his passion for theatre and music. Kirkire delves into the challenges he faced and sheds light on the factors that propelled him to success.

The interview also touches on his collaboration with filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra, unraveling the secrets behind their blockbuster movies like Lage Raho Munna Bhai and 3 Idiots. Throughout the conversation, Kirkire shares personal anecdotes and insights, providing a glimpse into the life of this multifaceted artist.

Here are a few excerpts from the interview:

Rohan: Of course, these were the brilliant moments, the flashes in your life which brought you into the limelight and also underscored your ability to become someone who was a respected human being in the industry but also brought you closer to Vidhu Vinod Chopra from there on the partnership which went on till ‘12th fail’.

So I just want to know that you have done Munnabhai and you have also done PK. So when this phase came, did that partnership prove lucky for you? Or do you think that we can achieve a place even without partnerships?

Swanand: No, we can achieve a place without a partnership. I don’t find any problem in that. But when partnerships are formed, then you don’t know what exactly is working in that partnership.

Rohan: So that partnership was formed with Vidhu Vinod Chopra?

Swanand: I have been working with Vidhuji for many years now. And it’s like, he says something to me, I can understand what he is saying with the gesture of his eyes. Let’s take the example of 12th fail. There is a version of Atal Vajpayee’s poem ‘Har Nahi Manuga’ which is being used in the movie. At the climax, I suggested Vidhu to use it and he readily agreed.

But when we did, it wasn’t matching. So he asked me to write one. The first part of the poem was not being used but when that scene comes where the character realises that he is becoming an IPS, there I suggested the first stanza of the poem to be used and Vinod also felt that it was perfectly complimenting the scene. That was a magic moment when we both came to that realisation.

Rohan: You also worked with his friend Raj Kumar Hirani recently.

Swanand: We all work together. Through Vidhu only, I got Lage Raho Munnabhai.