Javed Akhtar revealed about writing 'Pal Pal Hai Bhari', said – this song related to religion had increased the pressure

The famous song 'Pal Pal Hai Bhari' from the film 'Swadesh' may be considered an iconic song today, but the story of its writing is equally interesting and challenging. The writer of this song, Javed Akhtar, recently told in an interview how much pressure he was under while writing this song. He jokingly said that director Ashutosh Gowarikar had made him a “murder plan” by giving him such a topic.

The song scene was inspired by Ramayana

Javed Akhtar shared the story behind this song in a conversation with YouTube channel O2India. He told that director Ashutosh Gowarikar called him to Y, where the shooting of the film was going on. Ashutosh told him that the song had to be recorded soon as composer AR Rahman was going out for a month.
The scene of the song was inspired from Ramayana. It showed Sita, who is held hostage by Ravana in Ashoka Vatika, answering questions about Ram. During this, Ravana questions Rama's character, and Sita explains why Rama is a great man.

Javed scared of writing on religious topic

Javed Akhtar admitted that he was very nervous about writing on this topic. He said,

“I told Ashutosh that you have made complete arrangements for my murder. This is such a sensitive topic! Ravana is raising questions on Ram, and Sita is answering him. You are asking me to write this? If you had told in Mumbai, I would have brought a book like Ramcharitmanas and used some quotes from there. But there was no reference material here (in Y). At that time the Ram Mandir Movement was at its peak. That's why I refused to write the song.”

Song composition and inspiration

However, despite the pressure, Javed Akhtar accepted the challenge. He told that after sleeping early under stress, he woke up in the morning and wrote the song in just two hours. After the release of the song, someone told him that the lines used in the song seemed inspired by the works of Tulsidas.

To this Javed Akhtar replied,

“I had no knowledge about these lines. Even today I think that perhaps I might have heard this while watching Ramlila in my childhood. When I needed it, my mind placed it in front of me. “Or it was the most natural way of arguing, and I wrote in that direction.”

'Pal Pal Hai Bhari': A timeless song

This song of Javed Akhtar still resides in the hearts of the audience. This song, written on a mythological and sensitive subject like Ramayana, not only gave depth to the film 'Swadesh' but also took Javed Akhtar's writing to a new height.

The story of this song is proof that art and inspiration can find a place in any situation, no matter how challenging the situation is.