Raghu’s New Fraaandship

MFK,slated to release today,is a teenage ‘rom-com’,based on Facebook and social networking. “The songs,therefore,are not deep and introspective but fun and lively. The soundtrack is peppered with happy pop songs to rock sounds to love ballads,” says Dixit. Listen to the new favourite on the music charts,Dheaon Dheaon,and it becomes obvious that Dixit is steering clear of the usual Bollywood dance tracks inspired by bhangra or disco rhythms. He has drawn upon the sounds of South India. “I have introduced the South Indian percussive dance and Tamil music form tapanguchi in Dheaon Dheaon,” says Dixit,who has composed music for many South Indian films.

His range in MFK extends from Uh-oh-oh,a fast,peppy number,to the soothing,slow movements in Batein Shuru,in which he has roped in new voices,Shefali Alvares and Joy Barua. Another popular track is Har saas mein,a rock-inspired qawwali and a Raghu Dixit original. The film follows a minimalistic soundtrack,with little programming and,according to Dixit,the album sounds like a live gig,with live instruments — simple,playful and energetic.

Even as he waits for the film to release,he recalls,“Composing for a film was harder than I expected. The time difference between the UK,where I was playing in back-to-back tours,and India didn’t make things any easier.”