The debate surrounding the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Animal (2023) continues to rage on, with divergent opinions aplenty. On one side, educator, YouTube personality and civil services coach Vikas Divyakirti, who had a special role in the film 12th Fail, criticized Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s movie, labelling it “vulgar”, stating, “A film like this should not be made. It takes our society back by 10 years.”

In an interview with radio personality Neelesh Misra, Divyakirti particularly singled out a scene in which Kapoor’s character demands Triptii Dimri’s character lick his shoes to prove her loyalty, raising concerns about its potential influence on impressionable minds with a feudal mindset. “Itni fuhad aur badtameez film hum bana rahein hai then it is very sad,” he added.

Meanwhile, actor Vidya Balan offered a contrasting viewpoint. Speaking to Pinkvilla, she remarked, “Conviction is the name of the game here. We are told content is king. But you can have great content told unconvincingly. Animal is a great example of that; they were not apologetic and second-guessing; they told the story unabashedly. And look at the way the film worked.” 

He forayed into Bollywood as a lyricist in 2003 with Jism. And as the film turns 20 today, Neelesh Misra takes us through the experience of working on the Bipasha Basu and John Abraham-starrer. “Jaadu Hai Nasha Hai was my first song as a lyric writer and it became such a benchmark that everyone wanted me to write songs on similar lines. Since it released at a time when we had just entered the new millennium, it started a new trend of songwriting. Though it was edgy and sensuous, it was beautifully romantic. There was nothing vulgar or obscene about it,” says Misra, as he goes on to explain how it wasn’t easy for him to start out as a lyricist, given the way songs were made back then.

He adds, “It was during my first music sitting in Mumbai when I found out that the tune of a song was created first and the lyricist had to fit the words into it. When I sat down to write Jaadu Hai Nasha Hai, I just couldn’t do it. This was the first time in my life when I failed at something on day one. I felt awful as I couldn’t meet the expectations that Bhatt sahab (filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt; story and screenplay writer of Jism) and Pooja (Bhatt; producer) had on me.”

Interestingly, the song worked out in an unexpected manner and he credits composer M M Kreem for making him feel comfortable: “I was in a cab and suddenly some words crossed my mind. I wrote Jaadu Hai Nasha Hai on the rear side of a food bill and when I shared the lines with Bhatt sahab, he was ecstatic.”

Misra also penned the song Chalo Tumko Lekar Chalein. “I wrote the lyrics of the song in a classic ghazal metre. I feel the way Mr Kreem captured the silence in the song was beautiful,” says the lyricist.

Since Jaadu Hai Nasha Hai had sensuous visuals, it was received well at Misra’s home: “I was very excited about the promo of the song, as it was my first Bollywood track. I come from a middle-class family and I still remember my father said, ‘I will listen to the songs you write, but won’t see them’,” he quips.