Javed Akhtar recalls no composer, music company wanted to make ‘Breathless’, made him wait for seven years: ‘If I had not met Shankar Mahadevan…’

The veteran artiste added that while he doesn’t want to name those people because it’s “embarrassing,” he did reveal that he tried to make the song happen for seven years. “And when I say seven, I mean seven, not five, not six,” he told Variety India. It’s only after seven years that he met and pitched the idea to Shankar Mahadevan, who instantly came onboard.

“This was my luck. What if I had not met Shankar? I would still be sitting with ‘Breathless’ unmade. I would have accepted that it was a bad idea because if everyone is rejecting something, there has to be some problem with it,” confessed Javed. “The details about this row are very embarrassing. They would ask me, who will sing it? No one can sing it. How will the song get popular?,” he added.

Even after Shankar Mahadevan went on to sing “Breathless” and even recorded a music video for it, the team continued to face hurdles from the music company in releasing the song. “The marketing department was not ready to release the song or the video. They did not have faith in the song. There was an argument over it,” recalled Shankar.

Once it released, “Breathless” went on to be one of the most popular Indian independent tracks of all time. “What the marketing department believes in is one thing: nothing should be done for the first time. The second time, no harm,” pointed out Javed Akhtar. He blamed marketing departments for killing many songs like “Breathless” over the years.

Also Read — When timing beats vulgarity: Why Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hain! outsmarts big-budget comedies

“What has been happening for quite some time is that the marketing department gives a list of requirements, and these are a bunch of people who do not understand anything about music. If they did, they would not be in marketing; they would be making music,” added Javed.