Javed Akhtar shared an interesting anecdote during a gathering in Kolkata, where he spoke about a time when he had a very tight deadline to write a song. At the recent FICCI event in Kolkata, Javed Akhtar expressed his confidence in having written a highly successful song within 10 minutes. He stated, "I have written a few songs in less than 10 minutes."
Javed Akhtar recalled an incident involving Yash Chopra's fourth assistant who approached him after the movie Silsila, requesting him to write songs for his film. Despite the absence of funds, Javed agreed to take on the task. However, due to the absence of payment, one song was left unfinished.
Describing the incident further, Javed mentioned how he kept postponing the songwriting process until the very last moment. He said, "Every night, after drinking and chatting, we would decide to finish the song the next day by 2 a.m." The assistant persistently asked for the song until one day, under the influence of alcohol, Javed finally relented. It was well past midnight, and he had to catch the final train.
With the pressure of time, Javed kept checking his watch, allowing him to recall with certainty that he completed the song in nine minutes. He requested a pen and a piece of paper, and amidst the influence of eight or nine drinks, he made the decision to finish it. The song he created in that short time span was sung by Jagjit Singh and titled 'Tum Ko Dekha To Yeh Khayal Aaya.'
Javed Akhtar's storytelling evoked amusement from the audience, and they roared with laughter at his humorous account during the event.