Shabana handpicks dad's songs for compilation

Mumbai, Jan 14, 2011 (IANS) Tears well up in Shabana Azmi's eyes whenever she listens to "Tum itna jo muskura rahe ho". The song, with heart-warming lyrics, reminds her of her father, writer-lyricist Kaifi Azmi, in whose honour she has launched a compilation of his songs.

The veteran actress says the song is very close to her heart, as it was penned by her father, and picturised on her in the 1982 film "Arth".

"If stimulus was good, then actors didn't need to do anything...they just had to react. Such a wonderful situation it was and the song was so beautifully shot by Mahesh Bhatt. It had good tune and was sung in a nice voice. Even today when I listen to this song, my eyes fill with tears," Shabana told IANS.

The proud daughter decided to handpick a few of her father's songs and launched an album called "Legends - Kaifi Azmi", in association with music label Saregama, in Mumbai Friday.

It was launched in the presence of father-daughter duo Anil Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor. Also present at the event were Shabana's husband, writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar, and his children from first marriage -- Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar.

The album is a compilation of evergreen songs penned by Kaifi Azmi, whose 90th birth anniversary falls Saturday.

"I am delighted that Saregama is presenting 'Legends...' on the occasion of his 90th birth anniversary. I have selected these songs myself and hope that it will provide our listeners the same pleasure that it gives me," said Shabana.

The 61-year-old admits there is a magic in old songs that has gone missing from contemporary numbers.

"Even today all the stage performers choose to sing old songs. They hardly sing today's contemporary songs. Why do they choose old songs? There should be some reason behind this. I believe the reason behind this was the lyrics which keeps the song alive," she said.

Shabana lost her father a decade back, and she still gets emotional when she talks about him.

"Abba didn't talk much, but whenever he did talk, there was so much sweetness in it. Abba never scolded me ever in my life," she said.