award at Stardust for Allah Waariyan. After a few more films, playback started with Saathi Re( Kapoor & Sons) and Dariya( BaarBaarDekho) in the same year.
That happened when I met Karan Johar and he loved the songs and wanted me to sing both of them.
Who is your God father / idol in the industry and why?
I have no idols and no Godfather but Mahesh Bhatt and Pooja Bhatt will always have a special place in my heart as they showed the gumption and faith to give me my debut film.
You are now singing too, apart from composing. which one would you choose to do more often?
Well I compose many more songs than I sing. And it frankly depends on the kind of song and rendition required. In 2018 you will hear many songs releasing in my voice.
You have done some really good movie compositions. Which was your best by far and why would you choose that?
It’ s difficult to choose among your babies. Few special ones would be— Abhi Abhi as it was my first, TereSangYaara as the audience showered an unprecedented amount of affection on it, and Dariya & Nazm Nazm are close to my heart too.
Which male and female singers would you like to sing with for your compositions?
Male- Bono
Female- Lorde
What ' s your take on the current independent music scene in India?
It’ s growing rapidly and it’ s the future of the Music Business in India.
ARKO PRAVO MUKHERJEE
Take us through your musical path so far and how has it been?
It’ s been quite a revelation on many levels. From learning RabindraSangeet as a kid, to being obsessed with Rock Music as a teenager and through college, to learning Hindi to write and compose for films, it’ s been a rather unplanned journey.
But I’ m enjoying composing and writing because of the trust of my labels and producers, and of course because of the love and acceptance from the audience.
You had risen to fame with your song Dariya. How did that break come about?
Well my debut film was Jism2 and it got me nominations in many award ceremonies, especially Abhi Abhi. Then I won my first
As an acclaimed composer, you would like to see certain changes in the current scheme of things. What would it be?
The changes we all want are set in motion and we await a fruitful fair outcome. To be precise, Royalties and fair distribution of rights.
Most often, singers of a song are given more precedence and importance than the person behind the song i. e the composer. What is your take on that?
It’ s unfair and immature.
How do you plan to sail in the ever changing industry and what new from your side?
Good melody and good writing can never go out of style. Hence that is my sole focus.
Upcoming projects
Among films, there’ s Sudhir Mishra’ s DasDev, Hate Story 4, Tadka( first time with Nana Patekar sir), Gold, and a few others.
Besides, there are singles with Sony, Tseries and ZeeMusic.
Message to composers who are just starting out.
Be original, be patient and don’ t let anyone( including me) tell you how it’ s done!
The Score Magazine highonscore. com
29