Words that linger, emotions that echo—lyricist Raj Shekhar has a way of weaving poetry into music that feels deeply personal. His song ‘Ishq Hai’ from Mismatched Season 3 has struck a chord with young listeners; its tender, classical melody and blend of Urdu lyrics made it go viral on Instagram reels. Raj feels that he is able to understand the emotions of common people quite well as he comes from a humble background, having grown up in a village. Yet, he is also able to bring in intensity in some of his songs like ‘Pehle Bhi Main’ and ‘Papa Meri Jaan’ from Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal (2023). For the latter, the lyricist reveals writing twelve stanzas in order to explore the complex father-son emotions. “Then we sat together and finalized the last six ones to be included in the song. It was a rewarding process,” he says.
Raj is also known for writing songs for Tanu Weds Manu (2011), Veere Di Wedding (2018), Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba (2024) and, more recently, for the Shahid Kapoor starrer Deva. In this conversation, he delves into his creative process, the changing landscape of songwriting, and what truly makes a song last.
Your song ‘Ishq Hai’ from Mismatched Season 3 has a stirring old-school quality to it that is pleasing to hear. Why do you think it has been resonating with audiences?
I don’t know what elements from my songs resonate with the audience. For me, every song is about exploring and it always feels like my first song. It has the same excitement, fear, honesty and anxiety. I want to keep that alive within me. I am just happy that ‘Ishq Hai’ has resonated with people and beyond that I don’t want to dissect what has worked and why it has worked. I would rather move on to my next song.
According to you, what holds more weightage in making a song resonate: the lyrics or the music? Can a song with substandard tune still work if it has great lyrics and vice versa?
I feel both things go together and are equally important. If you have good words but the tune is not good, then the song wouldn’t sound good. The tune makes a song instantly popular and the words make it immortal.
Does it ever happen that you are told not to use some words or use certain kinds of words in your lyrics to make it more accessible?
It happens a lot of times that we are told not to use some words. There were a lot of words in the songs of Mismatched which may give the impression that people will not understand them. But that was not the case as both ‘Aise Kyun’ and ‘Ishq Hai’ were liked by audiences. I feel Gen Z is quite intelligent and smart. If we are able to communicate with them with honesty and heart, they will understand.
You have been writing songs for more than a decade now and earlier there was no influence of social media and reels to how songs were perceived. Over the years, do you sense any change due to the impact of social media?
In the age of reels, you are expected to convey your thoughts in a short time. Along with that, people also say that a song should have a hook, but I don’t always follow it. While writing a song, I don’t think about making it viral on reels.
What is your working process? Do you like to write to music beats or without them?
I work both ways. Like ‘Ishq Hai’ was written first and then the tune was made. The tune of ‘Papa Meri Jaan’ came first and then I wrote the lyrics. Similarly, the songs of Tanu Weds Manu were written first. So, I am comfortable working in both ways. Just that, if you have a tune of a song beforehand, it sets a certain boundary and that becomes a bit difficult to work with sometimes.
While writing your songs, do you think of the actor who is going to be there in it? Does that, in any way, add anything to your process?
It’s only when I know who is going to be the actor that I think of them while writing. It helps in giving a body to the character in the film. But when I don’t know who is going to play a certain character, I think of Shah Rukh Khan or Ranbir Kapoor and write.
When we listen to some of the older songs written by Sahir Ludhianvi, Anand Bakshi and others, there is a certain simplicity in them and they seem to have a universal quality. While many songs made recently don’t have that shelf life. Do you agree with that? If yes, what has changed since then?
I don’t feel that all old songs are good and all new songs are bad. However, I believe that earlier there was a certain literary approach to lyrics writing and a classical way to design the tunes which has decreased over the years. It is important to think about that moving ahead.