When Anil Kapoor revealed he forced Javed Akhtar to write ‘Ek Do Teen' for him in Tezaab after listening to Madhuri Dixit's ‘superhit' version: ‘He is a huge artiste, he can do anything'

Indian Express

23-05-2025

The iconic song 'Ek Do Teen' from Tezaab, featuring Madhuri Dixit, became a nationwide sensation in 1988 and remains memorable to this day. Choreographed by the late Saroj Khan, the track also had a lesser-known male version featuring Anil Kapoor. During an appearance on the second season of The Kapil Sharma Show, Anil revealed that Tezaab originally had 'Ek Do Teen' featuring only Madhuri. However, he convinced lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar to include a male version of the song in the film.
Talking about his first reaction to the Tezaab song 'Ek Do Teen' on The Kapil Sharma Show, Anil said, 'I heard the song and realised that it's a great song, I knew it would be a superhit. I told Laxmi (Laxmikant–Pyarelal, music composer) ji, 'Yaar, yeh gaana toh main bhi gaaunga (I also want to sing this song).''
Anil Kapoor also shared that he then forced Javed Akhtar to write the male version of 'Ek Do Teen'. 'He (Laxmikant) said that it's a female song, how will a male sing it? I said I don't care, Javed sahab ko phone karo (call Javed Akhtar). I told him, 'Yeh gaana main bhi gaaunga, you have to write it.' Even he kept thinking how will this be possible. I told him that he is such a huge artiste, a brilliant writer, he can do anything. So, vo gaana script mein tha nahi, maine zabardasti daala tha,' the actor added.
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Anil Kapoor appeared on The Kapil Sharma Show season 2 to promote his film Thar. He was accompanied by his team – Mukti Mohan, Satish Kaushik, and director Raj Singh Chaudhary on the show. They shared several candid and funny anecdotes with the host Kapil and the audience.
In an interview with ETimes earlier, film critic and expert Dilip Thakur had revealed an interesting anecdote about the location of Anil Kapoor's version of 'Ek Do Teen'. He had said that the song's male version was sung by Amit Kumar and it featured Anil Kapoor. The track was shot at Shah Rukh Khan's residence Mannat. Thakur shared that Mannat was shown as Anupam Kher's house in the movie.
Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit's Tezaab was a blockbuster hit. Directed by N. Chandra, the film also featured Chunky Panday and Annu Kapoor in pivotal roles.