Decoding ‘Darr’: Anand Bakshi’s Lyrical Masterstroke

Anand Bakshi had a unique gift for simplifying complex emotions. Yash Chopra shared a memory that demonstrated Bakshi’s skill during the making of ‘Darr’ in 1983, specifically for the song ‘Jadoo teri nazar.’ In a creative meeting, Bakshi said, ‘I think I have just summed up the theme of your film in this line: Tu haan kar ya na kar tu hai meri Kiran.’ Chopra recognized that Bakshi had perfectly captured the essence of ‘Darr’ in that line. Chopra initially favored Sahir Ludhianvi, collaborating with Bakshi later in his career. Bakshi was a master of film lyrics, prioritizing their integration into the storyline. He collaborated with filmmakers like Raj Kapoor, Raj Khosla, and Subhash Ghai, adapting his songs to their scripts.