Post record-breaking rage of‘ Tum Hi Ho’, were you a bit apprehensive of getting typecast in the industry as overnight you became the new‘ melody king’ of town, though thrillers like Creature and Ek Villian have streamed in a diverse palette from your kitty?
I believe, music comes very naturally to me and that’ s why, I have never been concerned about being typecast or bothered with the external factors like getting stagnated or building a so-called image, pertaining to one’ s trademark music. I have always done music straight from my heart and have in fact, seen that my music has stirred up a generation of composers, especially after Ashiqui2, I see a specific trend and pattern of melody in Hindi film music, all following that heart-warming romantic way.
He took to music as fish takes to water, thanks to his rich legacy of music that runs through his bloodline. Mithoon Sharma believes in spreading the warmth of his heart by virtue of his melodious music. The 32-yearold composer, singer, arranger, lyricist is a multitalented icon to many young aspirants in the industry, merely not for nothing. He consciously avoids adhering to the popular adage,‘ work hard, party harder’ and rather prefers to ruminate over his creations in isolation. More of a thinker than a talker, his pondering, expressive eyes say it all. In conversation with Score, this tunesmith recollects his decade-long journey and shares about his musical genes, influence of Lakshmi-Pyare, degeneration of lyrics, guest composing, quest for new voices in the industry, musical barter with contemporaries, introduction to Indian cricket spinmaster Harbhajan Singh as a singer and many more on record.
You are again working with filmmaker Onir for his muchtouted venture Veda. He has a knack for telling issuebased intense stories within a commercial format and you seem to have a comfort zone and good understanding with him since Bas Ek Pal. Tell us something about the vibe you both exchange while coordinating over a venture and the tunes that you are scoring for Veda.
I think it’ s too early to speak about Veda at the moment. It’ s Onir’ s dream project and he is working passionately on it but we are yet to reach a point where we start with the musical sessions. Besides, I would like to emphasise that I share a great comfort zone with the very cerebral filmmaker Onir. Music of both his movies— Bas Ek Pal and Shab has been highly appreciated. The area where I connect with him is what he and I like most in music. I have always stressed on the emotional content of my songs and that’ s what he always seeks in his film’ s playlists. He will end up crying if he hears a good song in the studio and that’ s how sensitive he is.
Current-day crop of young music directors not only show sparks of immense talent in terms of melody, beat and tempo but are also well-equipped with the technical knowhow of music programming and production. Do you agree that this is a compulsory requirement in the age of digital technology?
Technique and theory have always been an integral part of recording a song even before the digital age boomed. Back then, the method was more acoustic and it demanded the know-how and technical understanding of orchestration as well as arrangement. Whereas today, the experience has become more electronic in nature. But the role of a musician is still the same and being an arranger’ s son, I don’ t think I’ m the wrong person to comment on this.
I grew up training to be a technician first and then a composer. Fact is I have seen my father do the arrangement and production for all the leading composers of his era. It was under his guidance that I learnt to be an arranger first and then a music director. Plus, in my entire career, I have hitherto programmed, arranged and produced all the music myself. The advancement in technologies has rendered a new facet to music production and yes, I would agree that the arrival of these new technical intricacies does put the challenge of grasping the ropes first before utilising the same into music.
Any rank newcomer should therefore devote sufficient time to assimilate these fundamental aspects so that he / she can employ them to enhance his / her brand of music.
The Score Magazine highonscore. com
13