Musical Connect

Until a few years ago,music of television soaps on general entertainment channels was restricted to remixes of popular Bollywood tracks and inane chanting of ragas made up for background score irrespective of the sequence. This,however,changed a few years ago. Today,television producers bring on board music composers who create not only the title song but also theme-specific music for the key characters of their shows and background score that will go with the setting.

Prashant Bhatt,Weekday Programming Head,Colors,explains that while copied or remixed Bollywood songs were a good way of grabbing the viewer’s attention,channels realised that oft-repeated numbers used to take away from the exclusivity of the television content due to their prior association with the stars. Besides,the process of buying rights is time consuming and a costly affair. “Original compositions evoke a sense of freshness and create a connect with people that is exclusive,” says Bhatt.

A few reality shows,too,showed the way. Their songs,specifically written and composed — sometimes by renowned musicians — to suit the theme,became famous. Cases in point are Bigg Boss season 4’s song,composed by Sajid-Wajid,and Ram Sampath’s music for Aamir Khan’s Satyamev Jayate. MTV’s Roadies,which has,until now,mostly had Agni compose and sing for them,got popular Northeastern indie musician Papon on board for the latest season.

However,the industry has its own set of veterans,who are the go-to people for most producers. Ojha has been composing for television shows since 2008 and has worked on both the seasons of Choti Bahu (Zee),Maryada: Lekin Kab Tak? (Star Plus),and Parvarrish (Sony) among others. Raju Singh is known for Aahat,CID,Just Mohabbat and Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin on Sony,Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon? on Star Plus and now,Qubool Hai on Zee. Other famous names include Shaleen Sharma — he was the drummer with Indian Ocean for some time — and Ashish Rego.

For many of these musicians,television has been a more gratifying experience than films. “One hit film song can make a composer an overnight success. But television is much more satisfactory,” says Singh,pointing out that on television he has composed for a variety of genres,including comedy,reality and drama. “Also,the medium allows us to experiment. For instance,it would be obvious to use Sufi music for Qubool Hai,a show set in a modern Muslim household. But we gave it a Sufi-rock touch to keep the music contemporary and universal.” Ojha adds that unlike films,where everyone today records music with synthesisers,most television composers continue to use instruments.

The response has been great too,points out Ojha,who often comes across YouTube links to his compositions. However,the composer believes that his lot are unsung heroes of a television show and that an online platform that can showcase the music of all the shows on a channel will help establish a stronger connect with the viewers.

The channels,however,haven’t entirely given up on using film music since there are times when the lyrics and tune suit the show’s sequence better. Also,the songs come in handy when time is too short for new compositions. “A film song can be used only once for an event or a ritual,such as a sangeet sequence. But an original composition can be used numerous times in various versions,such as sad,happy,romantic,instrumental,depending on the mood in the scene,” says Ajay Bhalwankar,Zee TV Content Head (Hindi GECs).