Music composer Amit Trivedi is on a high. After over a decade of working in the industry, it appears formula-ridden Bollywood has at last woken up to a new sound. One, where fusion, jazz, rock meets folk and classical tunes.
This was evident in Aamir last year and currently, in the tracks of the soon-to-be released Dev D. Amit likes to think out of the box, and fortunately for him, the new-age music is finding plenty of takers; certainly not a bad thing for someone who isn't a trained musician and goes purely "by instinct". Amit himself is pleasantly surprised at the response to his songs, especially `Emotional Atyachar' the wedding song doing the rounds these days (on ringtones, FM channels, music charts etc). "You don't plan these things," he says. "It came about, thanks to Anurag Kashyap's (the director of Dev D) mad genius. He conceptualised the entire show, I just tried to execute it." The story goes that Amit, who had bagged the project after meeting Anurag a couple of years ago, composed a few songs and presented it before the maverick director. "One of the songs had a line that went `Ib ke hovega re agge yaar ' Anurag heard it as `atyachaar'. He added the word `emotional' and asked me to compose something around it. I didn't have a clue what to do. But lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya and I worked on the idea and finally managed to crack it. We decided to have a brass band version for which we got band masters Rangeela and Raseela to sing the song. Later, we added the rock version too. It was a huge challenge but we pulled it off somehow! But it's great that it has caught on," he says. As have the other numbers which are a mix of varied genres and stand out because of their funky notes. Even so, he feels the industry isn't open to experimentation and would rather conform to the tried and tested trends. "I remember meeting a producer who wanted me to create an item song like Bidi Jalailye Now, that was a good number, but I couldn't do something similar. Needless to say, I lost the project. My music is more suited as an OST, the way it is in Hollywood. Fortunately, though it is niche, such soundtracks are being appreciated here. And I would rather do something I am comfortable in, even if it goes against the tide." It is an approach he has held all through his career. Right from the time he was in college, music was all he wanted to pursue. "Like any other middle-class family, mine too had reservations about the choice of career. But as far as I can remember I ate, drank and slept music. I grew up on Madan Mohan, R D Burman, and later A R Rahman and Coldplay, and knew this is what I wanted to do in life." He began with theatre and then moved on to the ad world, composing jingles for countless commercials his bread and butter, as he calls it. "I must have sold everything, from soap to oil," he chuckles. "Later I even formed a band called Om with a group of friends, in 2004. We released a fusion album but it flopped. Then it was back to ads, theatre and television." But has the struggle to be hatke borne fruit now? "Well, I am getting offers and producers are calling me up," he smiles. However, despite the steadily growing popularity of his music, Amit feels far from having "arrived" on the scene. "Success feels good, but the thought always rankles at the back of my mind `this film's music worked. But what about the next'? The pressure and expectations are more now." Maybe he should try the big banners then. How about doing the Yash Raj and Karan Johar brand of cinema? "Sure, why not? Provided I can get to do it, my style," he laughs. "I like people who break the mould, like Rahman." A mention of Rahman makes him gush. "Have you heard his Delhi 6 songs `Rehna Tu' and `Dafatan'? Forget Slumdog Millionaire, if the Oscar guys heard these numbers, they would come here and award him." Not surprisingly, he is among the millions gripped by Rahmania. "I would dedicate my success to him. He has inspired me to think different, create new sounds and go against the rules. Now let's see where it takes me!" .. http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/82/2009020120090201023140498e4d74390\ /Straight-off-streets <http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/82/2009020120090201023140498e4d7439\ 0/Straight-off-streets> ..
