MUMBAI: 2018 will be an eventful year for the Tanu Weds Manu fame lyricist Raj Shekhar. The lyricist started the year with Rani Mukherjee starrer Hichki and his upcoming releases include Anand L. Rai’s Meri Nimmo and many more Bollywood projects.

On the success of Hichki songs, Shekhar states, “I started the year with a hiccup (Hichki) but a lot of people contacted me after watching the film. They liked the songs.”

The lyricists next Meri Nimmo will be filled with Shekhar’s songs. “Nimmo is a very interesting, earthy story. I’ve written the entire album. The film will release mid this year.”

Every creative person has a way of working on projects and Shekhar’s way is to understand the script first. “Working with Anand L. Rai for Tanu Weds Manu 1 and 2 has spoilt me. While working on lyrics of both the films I always knew the story. In Nimmo too I knew the story and the changes. This has become my working pattern and I always insist on hearing the script or at least know about the characters before working on the lyrics of a song. For, the toughest part for a lyricist is not creating something, but to get the right brief. If you’ve cracked the mood of the situation and characters everything falls into place,” explains the songwriter.

Things were a bit different in Hichki’s case for Shekhar as he joined the team late. “I got a call from Yash Raj Films. They were looking out for a lyricist to write two songs. I met Maneesh Sharma who told me that the situation would be different as the film was already ready. But, I asked Maneesh to brief me and he did the job really well. He also showed me a few footages and I understood the concept. That’s how Madamji Go Easy and Khol De Par were created,” says Shekhar.

The lyricist also has a habit of reworking on his lines till the last minute. “A lot of people ask to not come to the studio because I make these last-minute changes,” laughs out Shekhar.

The Qarib Qarib Single lyricist has also penned for Phantom Films upcoming project. “It’s one of the most wonderful scripts that I’ve read. I was skeptical about doing the film initially, reading the script changed my mind. All the songs of that film are already complete.”