Prasoon Joshi: ‘Creative people never want to harm anyone’

Prasoon Joshi

As far as he can rewind, Prasoon Joshi has always felt like a storyteller. "Writing mere hone ki shart hai (Writing is the condition of my existence)," he says. No wonder he has spent last three decades of his life dabbling in every possible extension of the art form - books, advertisements, poetry, short stories, songs and screenplays. "I just wrote a musical, Radhiraaj: Love, Life, Leela. I am glad I can continue to experiment with different forms of writing," Joshi says, as we try to decode his diverse career over an hour-long telephonic call.

Even before he entered the world of advertising, Joshi, all of 17 years of age, had published his first book, Mai Aur Woh. Born to classical vocalist parents, Joshi was surrounded by words from an early age. "It's not like you decide one day, that from tomorrow, I will be a writer. It's not a choice. It's always there in you through your upbringing and how you are surrounded by that art form. I grew up reading poetry, Hindi poetry, a little bit of Sanskrit and folk music," he shares. He knew his calling, but the question that Joshi struggled with was whether his pen could earn him a living. "Hailing from a middle class family in a small town of Uttarakhand, I was sensitive about not being a burden to my parents," he says. So after completing his Masters in Physics, Joshi pursued an MBA course and found the sweet spot for his passion. "I found that the profession of advertising was where I could sustain myself and where there were takers for my storytelling." Weaving sensitive, charming stories for numerous brands, Joshi revolutionised advertisements. Storytelling in Indian ads might not be accorded the same value as movies, but the poet-writer treated both the forms equally. "People talk about higher and lower art forms but I don't distinguish like that. In ads, I told stories for brands. In films, I told stories to bring across social values to people."

Soon, Joshi began writing for independent artistes, including Mohit Chauhan's Silk Route band and Shubha Mudgal, and his work reached the circles of the Hindi film industry. "I was fortunate that my work reached people before I did. I wasn't knocking doors but my work had already opened their windows. Films were never on my mind because the kind of vocabulary I developed reading Hindi poetry, I wasn't sure film industry people would like that. But here I was, writing my first film song for Lata Mangeshkar and Ilaiyaraaja." With Lajja, began Joshi's stint in Bollywood. Hum Tum, Black, Rang De Basanti, Fanaa, Taare Zameen Par, Delhi 6 and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag stand tall as some of his most popular and acclaimed works as a lyricist. "My lyrics have always been poetic because I believe poetry is a gift that you are blessed with. You could be anyone in your professional space and still have a poetic eye."

For Aamir Khan's Rang De Basanti, Joshi also wrote dialogues, while Farhan Akhtar-starrer Bhaag Milkha Bhaag featured Joshi as its screenwriter. The Bollywood journey brought with it close collaborators, in the form of musician Shankar Mahadevan and Khan. "Aamir is such a fabulous mind. We have collaborated on so many films. He is very conscious of the work he does. Taare Zameen Par really made me learn about children and dyslexia. It made me a better person. I am not a sportsperson but writing Bhaag Milkha Bhaag for two-and-a-half years made me realise what sportspeople go through." As he discusses one of his most powerful works, Rang De Basanti, Joshi reveals how his much-loved song, Luka chhupi was an afterthought. "It's the last track I wrote for the film. There was only a background score written for the scene. The tune was so special that AR Rahman said, ‘There can be a song.' So, it occurred to me that why can't it be about hide and seek between the mother and the son? And the mother is saying, ‘I can't find you,' and the child says, ‘You can't find me now because I am in a place from where I can't come back'." His illustrious innings, however, wasn't without its share of rough times. Joshi mentions the industry shows respect towards a lyricist only when he or she becomes popular.

While Joshi is considered one of the most prolific lyrical and poetic voices in the country, an aspect of his professional life remains under constant scrutiny - his position as the CBFC chairperson. Joshi, who was appointed as the chairperson in 2017, has faced his share of criticism over the board's decisions on certain films. He admits that this journey hasn't been easy. "I understand I am on the opposite end of creative spectrum. But someone has to do that. A lot of people can be fence-sitters but nobody is ready to go into the field and do it. I am not someone who chickens out of responsibility. I distanced from films and a lot of my film work suffered after that. I had to do that to be absolutely objective. I always say that it's a difficult job to balance artistic expression and society's sensibilities. But I believe that creative people are not there to harm anyone. These things can only be solved through discussion."

Over the last few years, the filmmaking fraternity has often felt and voiced that it's not easy to make political films, especially those that are anti-establishment, in today's India. Does he agree with the sentiment? "All kinds of films will come out and there will be debates. Only through deliberation, will we understand. There are certain subjects that weren't touched upon yesterday, but today they are. We are becoming more vocal. I don't think there is fear among filmmakers that political films will be met with resistance or pressure." Recently, Anubhav Sinha's Netflix series IC 814 had to add a disclaimer after a meeting with the I&B ministry as a section of the audience had taken offence over the Hindu code names that terrorists of the 1999 hijack had taken on during the attack. As we mention it, Joshi tells us he has to get to an event. "Probably we could talk about it later," he says.