Lucknow, Jun 1 (UNI) Bollywood lyric writer of the famous track ' Galliyan' from the film 'Ek Villian' Manoj Shukla alias Manoj Muntashir has said that he is fortunate that he was born in Uttar Pradesh which groomed him in expertise of words. " I give all the credit to my birthplace Amethi where I occasionally go to recharge myself so that I can work in Mumbai," said Manoj, who would be flying to Malaysia for the IIFA awards tomorrow.
Manoj has been nominated for the best lyricists for his Galliyan track at IIFA this year to be held on June 7.
He said that his link with UP is unbreakable as the region has given him more than he required." I attribute all my work to the language and words to this region, as everyone knows that UP has made contribution in Bollywood to bring excellent lyrics, story and screenplays,"he claimed while talking to UNI from Mumbai.
" If I was not born in Amethi in UP, then I would not have become a lyricist of National fame," he said while claiming that people of UP has the strong vocabulary in the country.
Manoj, however, was critical to the move of the UP government, which is making an effort to attract Bollywood producers to shoot in the state. "UP government should first appoint experts in selecting the movies and the script, so that deserving people and movies gets the required attention," he suggested.
Manoj, who started his career from KBC and now a known face in Bollywood, is packed with events this year as at least six of his film in which he had penned lyrics are releasing in 2015. The prominent films to be released this year are 'Welcome Back' starring Nana Patekar and Shruti Hasan besides a mega film starred Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar 'Wazir' directed by Vidu Vinod Chopra, a T-Series musical film 'Jannat' and ' Rocky Handsome' starred John Abraham and Shruti Hasan.
The Amethi youth has also engaged in lyrics of Illia Raja film ' Kaksparsh', an art film to be released this year.
Manoj has also penned all the songs and dialogue for Hindi version of the country's biggest budget film 'Bahubali',in Telugu, whose trailor was released yesterday. The film made by a record budget of Rs 180 crores would be released on July 15 next.
Manoj took the pen name of Muntashir since it is unique and no other poet in my knowledge ever had it.
He went to Mumbai in 1999 after passing his BSc degree from Allahabad University, with just Rs 700 in his pocket.
He struggled a big and even slept on the pavements and starved for days. But overnight he was blessed as Amitabh Bachhan saw his talent and gave hime to write KBC. So Manoj's dream came true and there was no return after the KBC success.
Manoj was involved in almost all the popular TV serials and entertainments shows and has penned more than 100 songs for several films. He was also involved in several reality shows too including Indian Idol and Jhalak Dikhla Ja.
UNI MB CH 1611
