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Lyricist Irshad Kamil, who is flying high today, has written lyrics for films like Chhaava (perceived as a ‘propaganda’ film last year) as well as Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar The Revenge, also considered in the same category. But in the tradition of legendary songwriter Anand Bakshi, Kamil is now the lyricist of all three of the top highest grossers of 2025—Dhurandhar, Chhaava and Saiyaara—as well as of the highest all-time grosser of Hindi cinema, Dhurandhar The Revenge, this year.
In an exclusive interview, Kamil spoke to South Asian Herald about the franchise.
How did your association with director Aditya Dhar begin?
Actually, we are old friends since before 2010! He was the assistant in dialogue writing as well as to director Priyadarshan on Khatta Meetha (2010), in which I wrote the song, Sajde kiye hain laakhon, and we got to interact with each other. That was the beginning of our association and he told me that he really liked my work and would call me whenever he made a film.
But he made URI—The Surgical Strike without you.
He did call me for the film, but I was trapped then in too much work and he was in a bit of a hurry. So I told him that I cannot do injustice to his film and we can work another time. After that, he produced films that he did not direct, but when it was time for directing again with Dhurandhar, he invited me. We worked in a relaxed and passionate manner, the way I had done earlier with director Sooraj R. Barjatya and composer Himesh Reshammiya on Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo.
How was it working with composer Shashwat Sachdev?
Everyone involved here made it a happy experience for me. Shashwat had been introduced to me for Kesari 2 and we had already worked together.
The late Sahir Ludhianvi is one of your idols. How did you approach Ishq jalaakar, the song in which you blended his classic Na to karvaan ki talash hai from Barsaat Ki Raat?
Basically, we were trying out the mood with a feeling as if we are going on a mission. There was no clarity about what shape the song would take. But Shashwat and Aditya were very clear they wanted a blend with Na to karvaan ki talash hai. We had sittings every day and the brief was that we should not touch the original and keep the melody intact while also fulfilling the situation’s requirement. It was tough because I could not write something ordinary along with Sahir-saab’s classic lines!
With a few detractors slamming the film, did you not face any backlash?
Not at all! I know two things for sure. No followers of any religion are all good, or all bad. And in art, there is no Hindu-Muslim. I never thought of Dhurandhar— or Chhaava, for that matter—as anything other than work. And mywork is writing songs. I never question the writer and director—that’s not my job! I have to justify his story, vision and situation, whether it is a Dhurandhar or Aamir Khan’s Ek Din, which is my next release.
