Dehradun, Nov 16 (PTI) The beloved "Jungle jungle baat chali hai" almost saw its playful 'chaddi' word changed, but veteran lyricist Gulzar refused to budge, keeping the song’s innocence and imagery intact, recalls its composer Vishal Bhardwaj.

Speaking at the ongoing seventh edition of the Dehradun Literature Festival on Saturday, Bhardwaj, who was called in at the last minute to compose the track after another composer dropped out, recounted how the ’90s childhood anthem -- the title track of Rudyard Kipling’s "Jungle Book" animated series -- came to life.

"Back then, the NFDC dubbed foreign animated series into Hindi. The composer couldn’t make it due to an emergency, so Gulzar, who cared for me a lot, and I was struggling, called me over at his place.

"He said, 'we had to compose a

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