The lyrics of Border (1997) songs were written by Javed Akhtar, with music by Anu Malik.
Javed Akhtar, in an interview, has revealed that he was approached to write for Border 2, but turned down the offer.
He doesn't feel the need to recreate whatever is bygone.
Border 2, the sequel to the iconic 1997 film, is set to hit the screens on January 23. Ahead of the release, the makers launched a few songs, the recreations of the iconic tracks from the original soundtrack. Sandese Aate Hain is reimagined as Ghar Kab Aaoge, and To Chalun is reimagined as Jaate Hue Lamhon. The recreations have sparked nostalgia as many felt the songs retained the soul and essence of the original film. But a section of music lovers couldn't connect with the reworked versions.
For the unversed, Javed Akhtar penned the lyrics of the original songs, and Anu Malik composed the soulful music. In an interview, the veteran lyricist revealed that he was approached to write for Border 2. Here's why he turned it down.
Why Javed Akhtar turned down Border 2
Amid the online chatter about Border 2 songs, Javed Akhtar told India Today that the makers approached him to write for the film, but he refused. The reason is he feels "this is a kind of intellectual and creative bankruptcy." "You have an old song, which did well, and you want to put it out again by adding something? Make new songs or else accept that you cannot do the same level of work," he added.
He doesn't feel the need to recreate whatever is bygone. "We had a film before us also, which was Haqeeqat (1964). And its songs were not ordinary ones. Be it ‘Kar chale hum fida’ or ‘Main yeh sochkar uske dar se utha tha’. Those were such brilliant songs, but we didn’t use them," Akhtar said.
They wrote new and different songs, and people liked them. "You are making a movie again, so create new songs. Why are you depending on the past? You have accepted that we can't do it. We will live with the past glory," added the 81-year-old lyricist.
About Border 2
Border 2 is directed by Anurag Singh and is produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, JP Dutta, and Nidhi Dutta under the banners of T-Series Films and JP Films.
Sunny Deol is reprising his role from the original. Varun Dhawan, Ahan Shetty, and Diljit Dosanjh have joined him in the sequel.
