Javed Akhtar said that trying to revive the old songs is not wrong. He called it 'appreciable', but he said that the 'kind of commercial dependence on the past is not a healthy attitude'.
Most of the old classics are remixed or recreated. While some like it, some don't. Veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar has spoken about it in a recent interview. He said that making a classic into a rap is like adding 'disco music in the Taj Mahal'. In a conversation on Cyrus Says, Javed Akhtar said that trying to revive the old songs is not wrong. He called it 'appreciable', but he said that the 'kind of commercial dependence on the past is not a healthy attitude'.
He added, ''At least preserve its dignity. You take a song with beautiful lyrics, good meaning and then add your own bizarre antras (stanzas) to it, that is not done. It is like putting psychedelic light in Ajanta or disco music in Taj Mahal. That is not done."
Akhtar also said, “These are memorable songs, by great singers, writers, composers, you should respect them. This is a cultural heritage. You want to revive it, sure go ahead, you want to someone else to sing it with new orchestra and arrangement, there is no problem in that. Like, you take a (KL) Saigal song and make Arijit (Singh) sing it, it is fine. But you take that song and add a rap in between, that’s not done."
For the unversed, Javed Akhtar had penned lyrics for 'Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga', 'Sandese Aate Hain', and 'Iktara' among others. As a scriptwriter, he wrote for films like 'Andaz', 'Haathi Mere Saathi', 'Seeta Aur Geeta', ' Yaadon Ki Baaraat', 'Zanjeer', 'Deewaar', 'Sholay' and 'Don' among others. He had won several awards including 5 National Awards and the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan.