Vishal Bhardwaj recalls how Gulzar preserved 'chaddi' in iconic 'jungle jungle baat chali hai'

The beloved "Jungle jungle baat chali hai" almost saw its playful 'chaddi' word changed, but veteran lyricist Gulzar refused to budge, keeping the song's innocence and imagery intact, recalls its composer Vishal Bhardwaj.

Speaking at the ongoing seventh edition of the Dehradun Literature Festival on Saturday, Bhardwaj, who was called in at the last minute to compose the track after another composer dropped out, recounted how the '90s childhood anthem -- the title track of Rudyard Kipling's "Jungle Book" animated series -- came to life.

"Back then, the NFDC dubbed foreign animated series into Hindi. The composer couldn't make it due to an emergency, so Gulzar, who cared for me a lot, and I was struggling, called me over at his place.

"He said, 'we had to compose a song immediately, record it the next day, and it would air the day after'. That's how and when we composed the song", narrated Bhardwaj, who takes immense pride in having composed the most songs with Gulzar -- both for films and non-filmy projects.

According to Bhardwaj, the NFDC bureaucrats felt the word sounded “odd".

But Gulzar, the 60-year-old recalled, was unyielding: “He said, ‘This oddness is in your mind. This is the child's image. If the song goes on air, it will stay exactly like this. Otherwise, don't air it.'”

With no other option available, the song finally went on air exactly as it was.

Here, the ace filmmaker, celebrated not only for his critically acclaimed and commercially successful works like "Maqbool" and "Omkara" but also for children's films such as "Makdee" and "The Blue Umbrella", rued the fact that India still produces very few films genuinely crafted for children and their perspective.

"We never work for children's entertainment. They all have to depend either on Hollywood, or animation from outside or crass from the Bollywood, which has nothing for children," he noted.

The three-day festival at Doon International School, themed "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: Voices of Unity", is witnessing celebrated figures such as former CJI DY Chandrachud, actor-filmmaker Nandita Das, writer Shobhaa De, and singer Usha Uthup in attendance.

With discussions spanning a wide range of topics, the event celebrates the power of words to connect people across cultures and generations, fostering dialogue and unity in an increasingly fragmented world.

The literary extravaganza will come to a close on Sunday.