'Just write like Gulzar': Farah Khan on the 'Dard-E-Disco' brief that beat Javed Akhtar's procrastination

'Om Shanti Om' director Farah Khan recently shared a hilarious behind-the-scenes story about the hit song 'Dard-E-Disco'. While the 2007 film’s soundtrack is legendary, the famous Shah Rukh Khan track apparently had a very rushed beginning. Farah revealed that she got the song’s "gibberish" lyrics from the legendary Javed Akhtar in just five minutes after giving him a very specific and playful brief.

A playful jab at Gulzar

Speaking on the Take 2 podcast, Farah Khan explained that Javed Akhtar can sometimes be a procrastinator. "We'd wait for days for him to write two lines and give it to us," she said. To get the song done, she invoked his professional rival, Gulzar. "My only brief to him was: 'Just write like Gulzar sahab.' And within five minutes, he'd written 'Dard-E-Disco'," she recalled.

The challenge of writing 'gibberish'

Farah's unique request was a success. "Javed uncle said, 'Achha, Gulzar sahab jaisa likhna hai? Abhi likhta hu.

(Oh, I've to write like Gulzar? Let me do that right away)'," Farah shared on the podcast.Javed Akhtar himself has confirmed this story, stating on the Cyrus Says podcast that Farah asked for "gibberish" lyrics because the song's situation was so "absurd". "I realised for the first time that to write gibberish is very difficult," Akhtar had admitted.

Another case of creative genius

This wasn't the only time Farah witnessed such rapid-fire genius.

She shared another anecdote about the song “Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga.” Farah recalled Javed Akhtar "walked in with a blank piece of paper" because "he forgot, which he often did." After being reminded of the scene, he called his assistant and "dictated the lines effortlessly, ‘Ek Ladki ko dekha to aisa laga, jaise khilta gulaab, jaise shaayar ka khwaab, jaise ban mein hiran.

’" He produced several verses, they selected the best, and he handed over the lyrics, saying, "Here, the song is done."To everyone's amazement, the magic continued with RD Burman. Farah recalled that the legendary RD Burman immediately took his harmonium and composed the entire tune on the spot. She reminisced about the incredible speed of the collaboration, noting that Javed Akhtar wrote the lyrics in five minutes while RD Burman created the music in just five seconds, which she felt was proof that the "best creations happen just like that.

"Farah’s revelation offers fans a peek into how some of Bollywood’s most iconic songs came to life.