A Musical Force

The 58-year-old composer is voluble about his Indian experience. “At the reception that was held for me,I met so many people from the Indian film industry. There were so many people who were already familiar with my work and who loved it. If I get the opportunity,I would definitely love to continue my Indian association,” he gushes. He’s also excited about having heard Indian instruments live. “I’ve discovered the flute,sarangi and veena and I’d love to use them in the movie,” he says and adds,“Not the sitar and tabla,though. They’re too obvious choices.”

Santaolalla confesses that movies happened to him by accident. The musician had moved to Los Angeles from Argentina in 1978. “It was a terrible time in my country. The military was ruling and around 30,000 people had disappeared,” he recalls. It was to escape the Big Brother-like surveillance of the regime that he moved to the United States. But it wasn’t until nearly 20 years later that he got his first big movie break. “A friend told me that Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu was looking for a composer for his movie Amores Perros. My first instinct was to say no,since I was so busy all the time.” But he changed his mind that night,when he realised that he might be missing the opportunity of a lifetime. “I told Inarritu to show me his movie the next day and when I saw it,I was convinced.” Then came an offer from Walter Salles,for his movie about a young Che Guevara,The Motorcylce Diaries (“Because Che and I are both Argentinian”). When this movie was doing the rounds at the Sundance Film Festival,Santaolalla met Ang Lee,who would go on to make Brokeback Mountain—the movie would win the composer his first Academy Award in 2005.

While he’s won other awards as well—two Grammys,two BAFTAS,one Golden Globe and 12 Latin Grammys—he says that it’s his two Academy Awards (he won his second one for Babel in 2006) that really stand out. “The Oscars are a different beast altogether,” he says,“Not just because they weigh the most physically,but because it’s a whole other process to qualify for one.” And as for Indian awards,he’s keeping his fingers crossed. “I just hope that everyone loves my music,” he smiles.