Archive · 9 Nov 2025
Farah Khan Recalls Javed Akhtar Writing 'Dard-E-Disco' in Five Minutes
Imagine a famous songwriter named Javed who sometimes takes a very long time to write songs, like a friend who takes ages to finish a drawing.
When Farah, a movie director, asked him to write a song called 'Dard-E-Disco' for her movie, she told him to write it like another famous poet named Gulzar.
This special instruction made Javed write the entire song super fast, in just five minutes!
Farah also mentioned that Javed usually needs a lot of time for his songs.
She also shared a funny story about how she once had to ask Javed to explain the meaning of other complicated lyrics he had written for a different movie.
Farah Khan revealed that lyricist Javed Akhtar often procrastinated while writing songs for her 2007 film 'Om Shanti Om'.
Akhtar famously wrote the song 'Dard-E-Disco' in just five minutes after Khan's brief.
Khan's brief to Akhtar for 'Dard-E-Disco' was to write it in the style of poet Gulzar sahab.
Akhtar responded positively to the comparison, stating he would write it like Gulzar and then quickly completed the song.
Farah Khan also shared an anecdote about needing Javed Akhtar's help to understand Gulzar's lyrics for the song 'Satrangi Re' from the film 'Dil Se...'.
- Who
- Farah Khan and Javed Akhtar
- What
- Farah Khan revealed that lyricist Javed Akhtar wrote the song 'Dard-E-Disco' for her film 'Om Shanti Om' in just five minutes after she gave him a specific brief to write like Gulzar sahab.
- When
- During the making of the 2007 film 'Om Shanti Om', and the revelation was made on the 'Take 2' podcast.
- Where
- The film 'Om Shanti Om' was made in Bollywood, and the podcast was mentioned.
- Why
- Farah Khan's unique brief to Javed Akhtar was to write the song 'like Gulzar sahab', which prompted an unusually quick response from Akhtar, who also noted that the song was intended to be somewhat meaningless due to the absurd on-screen situation.
Farah Khan's Experience
Javed Akhtar's Recollection
Song Writing Process
Farah Khan's Experience
Farah Khan stated that Javed Akhtar often procrastinated and would take days to write just a couple of lines.
Javed Akhtar's Recollection
Javed Akhtar admitted on a podcast that he realized writing 'gibberish' was difficult, and was happy the song was 'fairly meaningless'.
Brief for 'Dard-E-Disco'
Farah Khan's Experience
Farah Khan's brief to Javed Akhtar for 'Dard-E-Disco' was to write it in the style of Gulzar sahab.
Javed Akhtar's Recollection
Javed Akhtar recalled Farah Khan wanting a song that 'had no meaning because the situation was absurd'.
- Film
- Om Shanti Om (2007)
- Song
- Dard-E-Disco
- Lyricist
- Javed Akhtar
- Director/Choreographer
- Farah Khan
- Actor Featured
- Shah Rukh Khan
- Podcast Mentioned
- Take 2 podcast