Imraan's poems from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara — full text and what they really mean
Written by Javed Akhtar, recited by Farhan Akhtar. Four poems that a whole generation carried with them.
There is a specific kind of person who remembers exactly where they were when they first heard Imraan recite a poem in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. Not the songs. Not the dialogue. The poems.
Written by Javed Akhtar and recited by his son Farhan Akhtar as the character Imraan, these poems are the emotional spine of the film. After the film released, Farhan tweeted: "It's so fantastic that everyone loves the poems in ZNMD. Thank you pa for injecting soul into the film with your gifted hand."
This video has over 1.3 million views. People aren't just watching — they're returning, saving it, sending it to someone at 2am. Here are all the poems in full, with translation and context.
The poems
Poem 1 — Pighle neelam sa behta hua ye sama
Neeli neeli si khamoshiyaan,
Na kahin hai zameen, na kahin aasmaan,
Sarsaraati hui tehniyaan, pattiyaan,
Keh rahi hain ki bas ek tum ho yahaan,
Sirf main hoon,
Meri saansein hain aur meri dhadkanein,
Aisi gehraiyaan, aisi tanhaiyaan,
Aur main sirf main,
Apne hone par mujhko yaqeen aa gaya.
A deep blue silence,
No earth below, no sky above,
The rustling branches and leaves
Are whispering that only you are here,
Only me,
My breath and my heartbeat,
Such depth, such loneliness,
And me, only me —
I now believe in my own existence.
This is the first poem in the film, recited after the trio emerges from the sea. It captures the feeling of being completely alone with yourself — no distractions, no noise, just your own breathing. Apne hone par mujhko yaqeen aa gaya — I now believe in my own existence. That last line is the whole film in eight words.
Poem 2 — Ik baat honton tak hai jo aayi nahin
Bas ankhon se hai jhaankti,
Tumse kabhi, mujhse kabhi,
Kuch lafz hain woh maangti,
Jinko pehanke honton tak aa jaaye woh,
Aawaaz ki baahon mein baahein daalke ithlaaye woh,
Lekin jo yeh ik baat hai,
Ehsaas hi ehsaas hai,
Khushboo si hai jaise hawa mein tairti,
Khushboo jo be-awaaz hai,
Jiska pata tumko bhi hai,
Jiski khabar mujhko bhi hai,
Duniya se bhi chhupti nahin,
Yeh jaane kaisa raaz hai.
It only peeks through the eyes,
Sometimes yours, sometimes mine,
It seeks certain words to dress itself in
And reach the lips,
To swagger in the arms of a voice —
But this one thing
Is feeling, pure feeling,
Like a fragrance drifting in the air,
A fragrance without sound,
That you know of too,
That I know of too,
Cannot be hidden from the world either —
What a strange secret this is.
This is the most quietly devastating of all. Javed Akhtar writes about the feeling that sits between two people — the thing both of them know, neither has said, and the world can somehow see anyway. Yeh jaane kaisa raaz hai — what a strange secret this is. Not a secret that needs keeping. A secret that keeps itself.
Poem 3 — Dil aakhir tu kyun rota hai
Jab gham ka saaya lehraaya,
Jab aansoo palkon tak aaya,
Jab yeh tanha dil ghabraaya,
Humne dil ko yeh samjhaya —
Dil aakhir tu kyun rota hai?
Duniya mein yunhi hota hai.
Yeh jo gehre sannate hain,
Waqt ne sabko hi baante hain,
Thoda gham hai sabka qissa,
Thodi dhoop hai sabka hissa,
Aankh teri bekaar hi nam hai,
Har pal ek naya mausam hai,
Kyun tu aise pal khota hai?
Dil aakhir tu kyun rota hai?
Whenever the shadow of grief swayed,
Whenever tears reached the eyelids,
Whenever this lonely heart trembled,
We told our heart —
Oh heart, why do you cry?
This is just how the world is.
These deep silences —
Time has given them to everyone,
A little sadness is everyone's story,
A little sunshine is everyone's share,
Your eyes are wet for no reason,
Every moment is a new season —
Why do you lose such moments?
Oh heart, why do you cry?
The most emotionally complete poem. It arrives at the moment Imraan finally confronts his absent father — the wound driving him throughout the entire film. Thoda gham hai sabka qissa, thodi dhoop hai sabka hissa — a little sadness is everyone's story, a little sunshine is everyone's share. It's not dismissive. It's the most compassionate thing you can say to someone in pain: you are not alone in this.
Why these poems still matter
ZNMD is a film about three men running from themselves at high speed through Spain. The diving, the tomatoes, the bulls — all beautiful distraction. But the poems are the film's conscience. They slow everything down and ask the question the action is trying to avoid.
Javed Akhtar didn't write these for a song sequence. He wrote them to be heard in silence, in a human voice, with nothing competing for your attention. Director Zoya Akhtar built each poem into a structural turning point — moments where a character crosses a threshold they can't uncross.
The 1.3 million people who've watched this video aren't there for any other reason than that at some point, one of these poems said the thing they were feeling and couldn't find words for.
That's what good poetry does. It doesn't teach you something new. It names what you already knew.