Javed Akhtar reveals he refused to write 'Border 2' songs: 'Make new songs or accept that you can't do the same level of work'

As the songs of 'Border 2' have been released, there's a clear divide among listeners. While the makers leaned heavily on reworked versions of the iconic songs from the 1997 original, many fans who grew up with the film’s soundtrack have expressed disappointment, arguing that the emotional depth of the original is missing. As social media filled with calls to bring back Anu Malik and Javed Akhtar. In a recent interview, Akhtar revealed that the makers had approached him but chose to turn down the offer. Explaining his decision, he said during a chat with India today, “They did ask me to write for the film but I refused. I really feel this is a kind of intellectual and creative bankruptcy. You have an old song, which did well, and you want to put it out again by adding something? Make new songs or else accept that you cannot do the same level of work.”Addressing the criticism around the film’s music lacking emotional weight, Akhtar questioned the growing trend of revisiting and reworking old compositions. According to him, every film belongs to its own time, and its magic cannot be recreated.Reflecting on 'Border' itself, he drew a parallel with earlier cinema. “Whatever is bygone, let that be. What is the need to recreate it? We had a film before us also, which was Haqeeqat (1964). And its songs were not ordinary ones. Be it ‘Kar chale hum fida’ or ‘Main yeh sochkar uske dar se utha tha’. Those were such brilliant songs, but we didn’t use them. We wrote new ones, we made absolutely different songs, and people liked them too.”He further added that revisiting past glory signals an inability to create something fresh. “You are making a movie again, so create new songs. Why are you depending on the past? You have accepted that we can't do it. We will live with the past glory.”When the conversation turned to the argument that rehashed songs help tap into nostalgia as a marketing strategy, Akhtar dismissed the notion and said, “You create new nostalgia then.”