Lyrics are all about creating a poetic screenplay: Kshitij Patwardhan

On his writing process, Kshitij shares that it is important that the brief and director’s clarity of the situation is in place

Kshitij Patwardhan’s lyrics for the song Querido Querida (Girlfriend), recently received a stamp of approval from Spain. His friend, who was travelling to Spain, had his friends listen to the Marathi-Spanish number, and they loved the lyrics. The 34-year-old is thrilled that the song has been received so well. He shares that it was a song that fit the film’s situation and was completely based on the character. “The film demanded this kind of a combination. The lead pair is an odd one, and the song celebrates their oddness with an upbeat and funky vibe,” says Kshitij.

Kshitij Patwardhan’s lyrics for the song Querido Querida (Girlfriend), recently received a stamp of approval from Spain. (Shankar Narayan/HT PHOTO)

He adds that the hook line was sung and shared with him by Jasraj Joshi, Hrishikesh Datar and Saurabh Bhalerao. He then wrote the song and got it checked by Spanish teacher, Gandhali Kulkarni. “She helped me make it more colloquial and interesting,” he adds.

On his writing process, Kshitij shares that it is important that the brief and director’s clarity of the situation is in place. “The brief and script should excite me as a lyricist. I draw inspiration from observation and imagination. It is a very abstract process, which I can’t really put in words. But the elements revolve around what I see and what I can imagine,” he says.

Having started his career by writing jingles for advertisements, Kshitij admits that writing for films and songs is a different ball game altogether. “When it comes to writing for films, sometimes, a music director expects you to put in words along the tune he/she has made. You have to understand the phonetics and the depth of the tune. If the song is a romantic one, you cannot use heavy phonetics. Balancing these aspects can be tricky. And, you have to also maintain the essence of the situation while making the lyrics memorable,” he shares.

The Ye Re Ye Re Paisa 2 lyricist says that lyrics are all about creating a poetic screenplay. He further adds, “You have to work around it. What works in my benefit is my experience as a lyricist and a screenplay writer. I can use my strengths in that department to make things easier.”

The Pune-based artiste shares that he, for a very long time, ignored the importance of recovery and rest. “In the past few years, I have begun to understand the importance to rest. So, now, I work for seven to eight hours a day. Out of which, one hour is spent in learning something new. This includes, watching a film, reading or simply analysing a song or scene from a film. I also spend time writing lyrics of my Marathi songs in Hindi. This way, I want to enhance my capacity to deal with impromptu situations,” he says.

His next projects include Sanjay Jadhav’s untitled project, Marathi film Dhurala, another project with Gauri Sawant, Afeefa Nadiadwala Sayed and Sameer Vidwans titled Dagdi Chaal 2, and more.