http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/sounds-different/766951/Bollywood sings a new tune with the foray of independent musicians into the film industry
When Gaurav Raina and Tapan Raj of Delhi-based
electronica band Midival Punditz, along with percussionist Karsh Kale,
began composing the background score for Excel Entertainment's Karthik
Calling Karthik, not many gave them a chance to get it right. Though the
film bombed at the box office, the trio's intense, pulsating
composition paved the way for more indie musicians in Bollywood. Post
KCK, Midival Punditz has already done the background score for Ajay
Naidu's indie crossover film, Ashes, and the upcoming Rajeev Khandelwal-starrer
Soundtrack. Kale, on the other hand, has bagged the opportunity to
compose the background score for Rohan Sippy's thriller Dum Maaro Dum.
"KCK allowed us to continue our style of combining electronica with
classical music. Similarly, with Soundtrack, we were allowed to compose
the background score and remix old songs keeping our sensibilities in
mind," says Raina.
It isn't just Raina, Raj and Kale, who are dabbling
with Bollywood. Popular band Indian Ocean's music lent the right amount
of gravitas to Anurag Kashyap's Black Friday, while their folk-inspired
tunes complemented the acclaimed Peepli Live last year. Raghu Dixit,
perhaps the country's most internationally-known indie musician today,
has composed music for several Kannada films, such as Superman and Just
Math Mathalli (JMM), and also composed the quirky and upbeat Murugan
Superstar for Quick Gun Murugan. The buzz is that Dixit will be
composing music for the Hindi remake of JMM as well. Mumbai-based
musician Ashutosh Phatak too, has begun his Bollywood journey with Help
last year and is currently working on a short film, titled Atom Red.
Imaad Shah and his band of boys, The Pulp Society, will make their
Bollywood debut with 404, a horror-thriller directed by Prawal Raman.
The arrival of independent musicians in Bollywood says a lot about the way Indian cinema
has transformed over the years, believes Amit Kilam, the drummer of
Indian Ocean. "Independent musicians have got a chance only because of
new directors who are keen on hearing new sounds," says Kilam, who feels
bands like theirs are limited to certain kinds of films. This is
probably one of the reasons why many singers who started out
independently had to learn to stop being too picky in order to get more
work in Bollywood. Shankar Mahadevan,
Mohit Chauhan and Shaan are a few instances that quickly come to mind.
Now, however, with the independent music scene
developing on its own, musicians aren't willing to give up their niches
for Bollywood. Phatak, who juggles his time between cutting albums and
making music for Bollywood, believes that "Bollywood is just a job,
cutting albums is my passion. There is more individual style in the
latter. In Bollywood, you are at the behest of the director and
producer," he says. Raina, however, says that the choice is with the
musicians. "We opt for only those films and directors who give us an
opportunity to do our experimental, non-formulaic music."
Filmmakers too, choose their composers keeping the
theme in mind. "Raghu Dixit made Kannada music cool for this generation
and he makes people experience his music," says Sudeep, who worked with
him in JMM — whose male protagonist is incidentally a singer in a rock
band — and now wants to repeat his expertise in Hindi. For director
Neerav Ghosh, electronic music is the theme of his movie Soundtrack, so
Midival Punditz was an obvious choice. "Independent musicians have
different reference points as compared to mainstream Bollywood composers. Sheila Ki Jawani doesn't come naturally to them, but Maxi Priest does."
However, contrary to the cliche that Bollywood music
is an obstacle to the success of independent artistes and bands in the
country, Kilam believes it is also a boon. "We make most of our money by
performing live. By the virtue of composing for a movie, your demand
for tours also increases," he says. Raina adds, "Music companies too,
aggressively market Bollywood music and films obviously have a wider
reach, which helps us step up our fanbase." The positives of independent
musicians making it to Bollywood are also appreciated by the audiences.
Music publicist Anita Hariharan believes that they break the mould of
the usual 'dhinchak' type of music. "Also, when indie musicians come
into mainstream Bollywood, the chances are higher that they will also
get fresher voices to the industry."
comment:
p_commentcount