"I was doing background scores when Bhatts offered me Raaz" - Raju Singh
By Devansh Patel, January 5, 2009 - 16:37 IST You will have to wait for a few more days see the big-screen version of Raaz-The Mystery Continues. But composer Raju Singh's score is already out on CD, and the music sets a tone that is both suspenseful and brimming with emotion. Raju is a cinema power-house. His past work includes background scores for films like Zeher, Woh Lamhe, Gangster, Awarapan, Kalyug, etc. In short, you can even call him Vishesh Films lucky music mascot. Making the score for what might be the most-awaited film of this month required a delicate balance. The result is reflective, but rises to the occasion for a thriller packed sequences...romance too. Having worked on the background music for quite some time now, it was the Bhatt camp and director Mohit Suri who wanted Singh to come out of the closet, and he did exactly that. Harrow Observer and Bollywood Hungama's London correspondent Devansh Patel met the versatile Raju Singh at his Juhu residence where he gets talking about his mentor, his inspiration, his passion, and of course, his Raaz to stardom. Realistically, no one has heard of Raju Singh - the music director. Do you give credit to the Bhatt camp for where you are today? Definitely, yes. For the last five years in the music industry, I've just kept myself busy not informing people of what I've been doing. It wasn't about blowing my own trumpet but I believed that my work will speak up for itself. I used to compose background score for five years but Bhatt saab and Mohit Suri saw the talent in me and urged me to compose four tracks for the Raaz-TMC album. Vishesh Films previous record has been so great as far as their music is concerned that I just couldn't say no. I used to go to meet my dad in the recording studios, Pancham da would tempt me with a Cadbury chocolate You had a very good rapport with RD Burman, we've heard. Brief us a bit about it. My dad's been a musician with Shankar Jaikishen, SD Burman, RD Burman, Naushad ji, etc. So right from my childhood I used to go and meet dad in the recording studios. Every time I used to go, Pancham da would tempt me with a Cadbury chocolate. After I started working with Mr. Uttam Singh for three years and then as a free lancer, I got a call from Pancham da who wanted me to come to the recording studio with my guitar. As I entered, I saw a chocolate lying on my seat. I was 16 to 17 years old then. That was my memorable experience with the genius called RD Burman for the film Jai Jai Shiv Shankar staring Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia. I don't know whether that film got released or not. Vikram Bhatt's Raaz with Nadeem Shravan's music was an instant hit back then. Will Razz-TMC take it to another level? The comparisons are happening with today's Raaz because the original's music was a superhit. Raaz TMC is different because the story is different, the situations are different and at the same time it's been a long time when that genre of music was at the peak. Today you cannot do that. You have to do something which is in sync with the current flavour of the season. Audiences have changed too. Their perception towards music has made a lot of difference to our music industry. So far the 'Mahi' and 'Soniyo' tracks are proving to be chart busters. Once the film is released, you will enjoy the music even more. Which is your favourite song from the album and why? I've composed four songs from the entire album. If I had to pick my favourite, I'd pick 'Soniyo' because we wanted to make a song which any lover would want to dedicate to. And we had in mind the song 'Jab Koi Baat Bigad Jaaye' which became our reference point as it was such a simple song which touched the hearts of millions of Indians. So we thought that if the same song had to be made in today's time, how it would sound. I and my director, Mohit Suri, tried out many versions but initially it didn't work. Then the next day we sat with couple of chilled beers and we got it because it had to be as simple as 'Tu De De Mera Saath' types. The song started happening and we finally got it. Thanks to the beer (laughs). How has Raaz-TMC shaped up? The first time I saw the film was only till the interval because the second half was still being edited. In spite of knowing the story I was taken by surprise when I saw the interval sequence. I never expected that to happen. Over the last few months, horror films in India are now being accepted by our audiences. I think Raaz-TMC will not only be accepted but respected too. Raaz-TMC will not only be accepted but respected too. Did you ever think at any point that Vikram Bhatt would have been an apt choice to direct Raaz TMC? Mohit Suri has given Zeher, Kalyug, Awarapan and Woh Lamhe and now Raaz TMC. So it would be wrong to say that Vikram Bhatt would be a better choice because he has his own way of making films. It's a different story when you say that Mohit Suri used to assist Vikram Bhatt. I guess the schooling is the same. But I'm sure that Vikram would be happy that Mohit is directing Raaz-TMC. What have you learnt from my past experiences as a background music composer? It's not enough to just keep doing your work. I had to be a music director one day but I guess it had to be a bit late. I had to come out in the open and let people know that I have done this. That was lacking in me. I had to talk about it. After Raaz-TMC, I am doing background music for Tips Film Toh Baat Pakki staring Tabu and Sharman Joshi. I've also done a Sanjay Gupta film called Pankh directed by Shudipto Chatterji starring Bipasha Basu and a new-comer Maradona. That will have music by Raju Singh. I've also done a background score for a film called Fast Forward directed by Zaigam Ali with fresh new faces. It's an Anjum Rizvi production. I'd done a film called Charas with him earlier. Before Madhur Bhandarkar's Fashion got released, I'd also done all his earlier films background score. Sonu Nigam stated in one of his interviews that 'Soniyo' comes in the top ten songs he has ever sung Tell us a the story behind making of the track - 'Soniyo'. When Mohit and I worked out the entire song, we played it to Mukesh Bhattji and Mahesh Bhatt saab. They were all very kicked about it. Then we wanted to polish the song even more. I had sung the scratch version of 'Soniyo' and all of them wanted to keep my voice as the playback. By that time we had heard the song so many times that we were convinced the song was over. But realistically we had to rope in a singer. We went for Sonu Nigam. He said that it will be a super hit song. He also stated in one of his interviews that 'Soniyo' comes in the top ten songs he has ever sung. You don't really associate music with horror films. Were you reluctant in doing it initially? I had a similar question in mind for Mohit Suri initially. But Mohit said that he was making a love story with the basic super natural aspect around it. You can then understand what the songs are doing in the film. There is only one song in the film which has nothing to do with the romance and that is 'Banda Re'. It is a very strong situational song. The rest of the album is romantic. Let's do a quick rapid fire now. Your best song. 'Gun Gunati Hain Geet Gaati Hain' from Madhur Bhandarkar's Satta sung by Sonu Nigam and Asha Bhonsle and 'Soniyo' of course. Your favourite music director. RD Burman from the yesteryears and A.R. Rahman now. I also like the work of Vishal- Shekhar and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. Most touching lyrics you've heard to date. There is a line from Sanjay Gupta's film titled Musafir which goes - Zindagi mein koi kabhi aaye na rabba... Those lines are very touching. These lines were penned by Kumar who has also written lyrics for 'Soniyo'. I'm also a big fan of all Javed Akhtar's lyrics. Best Playback singers - Male and Female. Sonu Nigam and Sunidhi Chauhan. Two of your all time favourite films from the Vishesh Films banner. Gangster and Awarapan. Do you see Raaz-TMC winning a lot of awards in 2010 for its music? I'm sure Sonu Nigam will win for his melodious voice in 'Soniyo'. http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/features/2009/01/05/4696/index.html Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/
