For someone who has been awarded the Cannes Lion, Filmfare and National Award and juggles effortlessly between roles as a flourishing writer and ingenious ad professional, Prasoon Joshi is a very, very humble man. Recently turned screenplay writer for the soon-to-be-released Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Prasoon believes that his greatest recognitions come from people and not trophies that sit pretty on a shelf.
“I once got a letter from a mother saying she called her son back from the hostel after listening to Ma from Taare Zameen Par. A cancer survivor wrote to me saying that she felt that Masakali from Delhi 6 was written for her — the idea of flying high like a bird, without a care in the world, inspired her,” he says with a smile. “I like my work to have an impact on people and on their lives.” But the closest to his heart is when an old lady from Pakistan rang him up, insisting that he sang lines from Arziyan. He obliged, of course.
A trained classical vocalist, Prasoon chooses to keep this part of his personality under wraps, to be pursued only as a hobby. “Not everything has to be done on a professional level. Life is too short to do justice to everything. Some things should just be an escape route, a hobby,” he says.
But despite living by this thought, Prasoon continues to explore different aspects of his creative self. He has forayed into the world of screenplay writing for the first time with Bhaag Mikha Bhaag. What prompted the move? “I choose projects that drive me. If you like a subject, it automatically attracts itself towards you. It’s like falling in love. There’s never a good time for it. But once you do, you make time for it. I choose subjects that enrich me. I knew a little about the Chittagong uprising before I wrote for Chittagong or little about dyslexia before Taare Zameen Par. These films did more for me than I did for them.”
He adds, “I loved the idea of exploring the life of Milkha. In a cricket-crazy nation like ours, it’s interesting to learn about other sports as well,” he says.
But Prasoon refuses to call it a biopic. “It is inspired by the life of Milkha and manifests the legend, but there are certain cinematic liberties that we’ve taken, while retaining the soul of the character. It’s the legend through my eyes,” says Prasoon, who spent a great deal of time with the athlete as part of his research. “He was more than enthusiastic about being part of the project. He is concerned about the state of sports in the country. There were things he wanted to share too.”
Prasoon believes in compartmentalising his work lest the screenplay writer steps into the lyricist’s territory. “Once I was done with the screenplay, I handed it over to Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. From there on, it was his baby. I zoned out of the role to concentrate on the lyrics. It is essential to do that in my view, or else your work looks like a reproduction of itself.”
Prasoon insists that the success of his songs is a joint effort. The magic of Rang De Basanti, Delhi 6, Taare Zameen Par, Phir Milenge, Black etc wouldn’t be the same without its music composers. “I share an almost ethereal relationship with A.R. Rahman and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. It’s important that we’re on the same page,” he says, adding that he has explored his relation with musicians in detail in his book Sunshine Lanes.
He leaves us with lines from his ad campaign, which he believes summarise the motto of his life. Rone ki wajah kamm hai, Hasne ke bahane jyada, Zidd hai muskurayenge, Khush rehne ka hai waada, Tum dil se agar poochoge, Woh Khush rehna hi chahe, Jab sachhe mann se maango, Toh khul jaati hai rahein, To khul ke khushi lutao, Ye kya hai aadha aadha, Umeed wali dhoop, Sunshine wali aasha...