You’ve been a music performer for a long time now.
What triggered you to release an album now?
I have been writing music for a while and I think over
the years of performing music, there has been a certain
association to it because it is predominantly for the films
that I have worked on. There is a certain connection
but to somehow engage with the audience and fans with
something beyond and a little bit more about me. Music
was always something I intended to do. Over time, and with
interacting with fans, I just felt that the time was right now.
Making an album is a lot of work. You’ve already
got so much work at hand across various
artistic avenues. How do you still find the time
and more importantly the inspiration to still
write, record, and sing your own album?
I took almost a year and a half off from my film work while
I was doing this because it definitely needs that kind of
commitment and dedication. It wasn’t something I was
doing for a lark and I wanted to give it my best so that when
people listened to it, they know that it is a passion project.
How did the break from films help
you in making of the album?
Well, it gave me the space to think only about one thing
day in and day out. Like what is it I wanted the songs
to be like, and of course give me time to spend with
musicians in the studio and even now to be able to talk
about the album. I wanted to focus single handedly on
the job at hand. It needed that kind of commitment!
Tell us a bit more about your album
It is kind of easy listening and I wanted it to be in the Folk-
Rock Acoustic kind of space so which is why we have kept
the album. The emphasis is on what is being said and it
isn’t really about the production. We’ve gone for a word
more than anything. There are songs about love, loss, being
optimistic, hope and touches upon basic human emotions.
There’s a song in your album called, “Why couldn’t
it be me?” Would you mind telling us the story
behind it? How you came about writing it?
This was a song that I had written almost as an emotional
reaction to the shootout that had happened in a school in
Peshawar few years ago where over two hundred children
were killed. So, it really had shocked the world and stayed
with me. All war is of course futile and violence is useless but
somehow when kids are affected directly, it somehow feels a
lot worse. At that time, I was traveling on plane and reading
a magazine that had a lot of articles on this. There was a little
story in this magazine about a young boy had bunked school
on that day. His mother had spoken a little bit in that article
because her older son had gone to school. I was thinking
about the young boy who didn’t go to school and I thought
it would’ve been such a strange place for a child to be in the
“I could’ve been there and died, but I didn’t and my brother
did”, such a strange feeling! That’s what inspired me to write
this and hopefully somewhere help in the healing process.
How did you link up with Tommaso
Colliva to work on the album?
Well, Tomasso is somebody, Anurag who manages me as
an artist, found when he was travelling to a music expo
somewhere. We tried collaborating with other engineers
but weren’t able to get exactly how we wanted it to sound.
And when Tomasso heard it, he told Anurag that he would
like to give it a shot. We had many conversations on Skype
where we spoke about each song, what it meant to me, why I
wrote it and then he got down to producing it. From the word
go, he was in the zone the way I wanted the album to be.
You’re an acclaimed film writer with such a
vast body of work. What do you thinks sets
music writing apart from film writing?
I think film script writing is very plot based and it is
different where you are catering to many points of view at
the same time. Somehow, in film there is a certain thought
between art and commerce. In music, it has to come from
a source that is very true and honest and the minute you
try to corrupt it with something, it becomes something
that it is not meant to be. That’s the biggest difference!
You come from a family of renowned poets and artists.
Do you ever conceive your refined taste in music and
other art forms as a privilege of your upbringing? Was
there ever a conscious decision to fight that feeling?
No, not really! I think we have musicians who come from
different strata’s of the society, different parts of the world. Of
course, family environment makes a difference. Most people
who are musically inclined, more often than not, were a part
of a family where music played a major role. Not particularly
musicians but even people who sat down every evening to
listen to records to CDSs at their home. That influence is
there and then I guess there is a leaning towards writing and
expression through poetry that comes genetically. My mom
does not write lyrics or songs but she is a huge influence
on me because of the amount of music she listens to.
Which musicians did you grew up listening and
what kind impact did they leave on you?
When we were growing up, there was a lot of Beatles, ABBA,
Elvis Presley, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar playing
at home. My mother had a very vast record collection and
there were disco LP’s also playing. Occasionally, we also
had Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin being played. There
was also a Classical section with Bethovan, Mozart etc.
You’re the owner of a successful film company and a
music label. What are your biggest learnings from both?
I think the important thing is, somehow in some kind of
way, whether it is through your own curiosity or through
experiences of younger people who are constantly coming
into creative space, to just keep your ear on that ground and
get a feel of what’s going on around you. A great example
of that is what happened with Gully Boy recently. There
was a whole movement with underground artists. It was
great to recognize that and bring it to mainstream film.
Can you tell us about your involvement
with Gully Boy and how it happened?
It actually started when Zoya was editing Dil Dhadakne Do
and the Editor played her “Mere Gully Mein” track and we all
saw and loved the track, there was certain energy to it and a
connection with Bombay! And then we saw that it got some
7M plus views and at that point they weren’t signed on with
any Label. Later, Divine signed up with Sony for a while.
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