Pritam keeps me on my toes, says Amitabh Bhattacharya

Mumbai: Lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya says it is quite challenging as well as exciting to work with Pritam as the music composer as he keeps pushing him to give all his energy in making the song.

The duo have created many chart buster songs together in films like "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani", "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" and "Cocktail". Their latest soundtrack is for Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol starrer "Dilwale".

"It is very challenging to work with Pritam. Right from the day he cracks the song, till the day the song goes out, he is constantly working, re-working, doing changes in the song. It has happened that a song is about to be shot tomorrow and Pritam is doing last minute changes to it overnight," Amitabh told PTI.

"He keeps me on my toes and that is very exciting to me. We debate a lot regarding our songs and ultimately the result is always good," he said. The lyricist believes Pritam has a wide range.

"Pritam has a range in his work. He has catalogues of hits and blockbusters. He has a 'Barfi!' and a 'Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani' too. His spectrum as an artist is vast. It is always good to work with composers who have range," he said.

Bhattacharya, however, feels sad that his "Bombay Velvet" soundtrack, composed by Amit Trivedi, could not get its due credit.

"In Bollywood, if the film works, it does help the music. The music of 'Bombay Velvet' was very much connected to the film, it was fabricated around its story. Jazz is not popular and common man's medium.

"We worked hard for two years for the film. More than me, I think it was Amit who was ten times more attached to the project than I was. When a film fails it is sad, but this is part of the game," he said.

Amitabh Bhattacharya will be teaming up again with Pritam for Ranbir Kapoor-Katrina Kaif starrer "Jagga Jasoos", Karan Johar's "Aey Dil Hai Mushkil" and Aamir Khan's "Dangal".