Acclaimed writer Varun Grover’s social media pages serve as abridged collections of his diverse interests, ranging from stand-up comedy to documentaries about pertinent social issues, and his take on filmmaking. Considering the plethora of content he has contributed to, Grover, one would assume, wouldn’t be easily swayed when a new offer comes his way. But Alia Bhatt’s Jigra was different. It brought him back to the studio with director Vasan Bala, with whom Grover has forged a strong bond. It began “many many years ago”, with the film, Peddlers. The 2012 offering made it to the Cannes film festival but did not hit screens in India. Subsequently, they joined hands again for Monica, O My Darling (2022), which also included music by Achint Thakkar.

“That was a very good experience for all three of us. We forged a good bond, [and had similar] musical tastes and world-views. So, when Vasan offered this film to me after that experience, I was very excited.”

In the 12 years since the release of Gangs Of Wasseypur, the lyricist has had limited releases in the Bollywood industry. He cites that he prefers to keep an arm’s length from offers that seem all too similar to his previous projects.

“I want to exclusively work on scripts that I love. After Wasseypur, I got many offers for gangster-action films, or those set in the rural landscape. I refused a lot of work until Ankhon Dekhi [2014] came my way, which was a different film. When Vasan came to me with Jigra, I was excited because I love his work. Also, this one was starkly different from Monica O My Darling, which included fun and quirky music. Jigra is an emotional film, and Vasan wanted something dense when it came to the lyrics. But, he still wanted it to be offbeat; not sappy or sentimental. Because it’s also an action thriller, we didn’t have many pockets for music. The songs are used in the background. So, it adds to the emotional depth of the film.”

The trio’s WhatsApp group called ‘Monica Music’ was renamed ‘Monica Ka Jigra’, and they commenced work on bringing Karan Johar’s production to life.

“Vasan shared some Tamil songs that he liked, to serve as references. I shared what I thought would fit the zone that the film is set in. We had pieces from around the world, including qawwali, Brazilian, English, and Tamil music, being shared here. We worked on the theme song first, which is the title track. Achint sent options for the tune, and I started arriving at identifying the kind of vocabulary that would fit the film. Jigra Ho set the tone for the whole album; that track distilled the theme aptly. Once we were in that space, we knew how to play on. Another song is Tenu Sang Rakhna, and then there is Phulon Ka Taaron Ka, for which I have written additional lyrics. The original song is upbeat. But we tried to make it more emotional; like an acoustic version of that song.”

While it was beneficial to work with colleagues in whose company he could thrive, Grover was also egged on to put forth his best work when seeing the team of the film at play. Watching the makers bring their A-game to their respective processes implied that there was little room for mediocrity.

“You have to really be at the top of your game. I have been a huge fan of Alia’s craft and her choices. She is the best working actress at the moment. She is also the co-producer. So, there was certainly some pressure on me.”