The Wordsmith

Lyricist Prashant Ingole poses with Priyanka Chopra

The journey of a young lad from Belgaum who was unable to write in the Devnagiri script, lyricist Prashant Ingole has through sheer dint of hard work and a ‘ziddi dil’, carved a niche for himself in the industry. Not willing to sacrifice his talent at the altar of commercial considerations, Ingole who began his tryst with words while in college, when he would chivalrously write pithy four liners for his friends received much appreciation for his talent with the words. Born and brought up in Belgaum, Ingole shifted to Pune where he completed his graduation. After dabbling in several jobs, Ingole ultimately found his true calling; writing songs. “After completing my graduation, I decided to do a course in hotel management since most of my friends had enrolled for it. I love to cook and someday, I want to open a chain of hotels all over the world. However, with the hotel industry dipping, I decided to quit the course, and it was during that time, I would write short messages for my friends who felt that there was so much poetry in my writing, that I should be take it up as a profession. I started writing songs and that is how my endeavour to establish myself began in the industry ,” says Ingole.
It has been a long struggle of nine years, during which time, Ingole, travelled to and fro from Pune, meeting music directors, producers during the weekend in the hope of being signed as a lyricist in their film. His first break came when he was signed to write ‘half a song’ for Aa Dekhe Zara. “A part of the song was already written and when the makers asked me to complete the song, I was in no position to refuse, as I needed the break. However, I was neither paid nor given proper credit for the song, as they erroneously wrote my name as Prashant Pandey. I did several small films like Daddy Cool, Mumbai Mast kalandar, Striker which I consider to be among my best as I worked with Amit Trivedi on the Bombay Bombay song. Though there were several projects coming my way, I did not want to do inconsequential projects, that’s why I do not have a great body of work to flaunt.”
His first big break came when he wrote Party on my mind for Race 2, and after that there was no looking back. His fortunes turned around completely, when Sandeep Singh, the CEO of Sanjay Leela Bhansali Productions, whom Ingole considers to be a mentor, asked him to meet Omung Kumar. Ingole was so impressed by the subject of Mary Kom, that he was only too eager to start work on the project immediately. “Within a few days of meeting the director, I wrote my first song, Ziddi dil, that was liked by everyone. It took me 15 months to write the entire album of Mary Kom. I wrote almost 55 to 60 songs from which we shortlisted four songs, Ziddi dil, Adhure, Saudebaazi and Teri baari hai. I worked on them further because I feel that whatever changes you want to make should be done before it is recorded, because once the song is recorded, it’s gone, you cannot do anything about it,” explains Ingole.
While Ziddi dil is being touted as the inspirational song of the year, Adhure, according to the lyricist, reflects Mary Kom’s life—sad moments, from tasting success to falling into the nadir of non-existence. “Omung wanted it to be a haunting song. I related with Mary Kom’s character, since I too had gone through a very tough phase, having gone bankrupt. So it is more of me and the character’s emotions that are reflected in the song. I dedicate Adhure to all those people who go through this phase, are lost, alone and shattered. I want people to connect with the song,” says Ingole.
The lyricist draws inspiration from nature, surroundings and interactions with people. Teri baari hai, reveals Ingole, was inspired from watching how the birds in his neighbourhood behaved. “While sipping on green tea, I would watch some naughty birds—pigeons and crows—who would swoop down as if they would come and hit you, but once they came near, they would dive down. While watching them from my window, I was inspired to write the lines, Aye parinde yun, ab ke udhakar tu, Jaa jalaa suraj ko jaake, aasman pe tu…” explains Ingole, who feels that he does not need solitude or going to a remote place to write. And when faced with a writer’s bloc, Ingole prefers to travel to Pune, by train and surround himself with the cacophony of people talking, shouting, laughing. “I get so many vibes, that it opens up my mind and I start writing songs. Otherwise, when I have to write, I just sit and let my mind wander to where the situation is. It is an exhilarating feeling when I can connect with people through my songs,” says Ingole who feels that his talent is God-gifted. “I do not know from where the words flow. God has given me this talent and whatever I write, it comes from somewhere, I do not write it myself,” says Ingole, who has a couple of big projects lined up next year, but is hesitant to talk about them.