The music and the making of ‘Toofaan’, Farhan Akhtar’s new sports drama

132-Farhan-Akhtar Farhan Akhtar

It has been 20 years since Farhan Akhtar’s Dil Chahta Hai, which he wrote and directed, came out. Akhtar still has the 60-page script and his hand-drawn storyboards from the sets of the cult classic. While the story itself resonated with the youth, its seminal tracks immortalised the film. It was Akhtar’s first collaboration with Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa (SEL). Two decades later, he joins forces with the trio again to deliver powerful music for Toofaan.

“the music and the lyrics have to be a story in themselves.” —Farhan Akhtar

Directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and produced by Excel Entertainment, Toofaan follows the journey of a boxer played by Akhtar. SEL composed four tracks, of which the melodious rock qawwali ‘Tez Chali Purvaiya’, written by Javed Akhtar, was the first, followed by the love song ‘Ananya’ and the high-octane anthem ‘Star Hai Tu’. ‘Jo Tum Aa Gaye Ho,’ a romantic number penned by Akhtar Sr and sung by Arijit Singh is a song everybody is listening to right now..

Akhtar is known to heavily invest in the musical aspect of his films. His passion for music remains so steadfast that an unused song penned by his father two decades earlier but never used in a film still remains fresh in his mind. In 2018, a decade after his foray into singing with Rock On (2008), he released his first single, ‘Rearview Mirror’. Six months later came the 11-track album Echoes, written and composed by him.

Mahadevan tells THE WEEK how during the making of Toofaan, Akhtar would be at the boxing ring by 6:30am, messaging the singer with ideas for a song. “The music-making process becomes much easier with Farhan because he takes the call on a song, thereby speeding up the process,” he says. “The advantage is that there is a free hand here. The process in itself is much more interesting, right from spending time in the studio to ordering good food. Stellar music is just a byproduct.”

In Akhtar’s films, the songs seamlessly blend in with the storyline. “The quintessential aspect is that the music and the lyrics have to be a story in themselves, showing the graph of a character’s rise and fall or playing out the script as an organic continuum,” Akhtar tells THE WEEK. “It is important to utilise the music where it is needed. Music is not the medium for the film to sell, rather it adds to the story and context.”

Akhtar’s last movie in a solo lead role was Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013), another sports drama directed by Mehra that required the actor to undergo rigorous training. “Unlike athletics, boxing is a contact sport; extremely demanding. So, despite my decent fitness and endurance, I felt I was not prepared to take on boxing,” says Akhtar. “I had a three-month long training period during which I went from 72kg to 86kg. It was difficult and exciting at the same time. But more than the physical transformation, there is an exceptionally significant emotional transformation that one goes through as well.”

Toofaan will be yet another test of not just his acting prowess but also of his aesthetic capabilities as a music nerd to inspire evergreen songs.

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