Sound & sense

Trivedi was virtually unheard of,until the quirky,out-there experimental track Emosional Atyachar from Anurag Kashyap’s Dev.D became a cult hit in 2009. The film was his second release after Raj Kumar Gupta’s Aamir in 2008. Still,it must be said that he has covered the otherwise tedious distance to fame in a considerably short time and at a very young age. “Dev.D gave me more than I had wished for.” It took a whole week before the news of the National Award could sink in,the musician recounts. Soon he found himself flooded with offers,fame and appreciation,including a bouquet of flowers from his idol A R Rahman. “I felt I had achieved everything and could die the next day without any regrets,” he laughs.

Trivedi’s content stems from the fact that neither had he planned a music career nor had he aspired to turn a composer ever. Music,he says,is in his blood. “My mother is passionate about music. She used to sing at Navratri shows and compose bhajans. So the atmosphere at home was always such that at the slightest opportunity my mother,sister and I would jam together,” he says.

Trivedi’s first public performance was at the 10-day Navratri programme in his neighbourhood where the self-taught musician played on a borrowed keyboard. This maiden performance,clearly,remains one of his most cherished memories. “I wasn’t from an affluent family so every small achievement was like a milestone. I still remember the sound of every coin dropping in my piggy bank when I was saving up to buy the small Casio keyboard. I was in school and Rs 1,800 was a big amount,so I had to buy the keyboard jointly with a friend.”

Over time,he started performing for stage shows and orchestras. In college,the musician joined a band called ‘Om’ which even had an album release. But this didn’t bring him much success. When in his early 20s,Trivedi went the ad jingles route with friend Amartya whom he often credits for his success. “Even until that point,” laughs Trivedi,“I had no intention of turning composer.” The free time he would get between ad projects was spent practising and getting friends to write and sing songs. It is during these jamming sessions that the composer finally found his calling.

Bagging his first film wasn’t tough. Having begun work on Dev.D in 2006,Kashyap was looking for a composer who would do justice to this musical. Recommended by friend Shilpa Rao,Trivedi met the director and bagged the project along with complete creative freedom. Halfway through the making of Dev.D,Kashyap decided to rework the script. However,impressed with Trivedi’s work,the director asked him instead to work on friend Gupta’s Aamir. In fact,it’s Aamir that went on to become Trivedi’s debut film. But Dev.D — with 18 tracks spanning across genres — established him as the only other composer apart from Rahman to experiment heavily with sound and technology.

What Trivedi has been most applauded for is his consistency at delivering quality music. His single Iktaara in Wake Up Sid was one of the biggest hits last year. The music of Udaan was critically acclaimed,and Trivedi’s score for Aisha was hailed as the film’s only saving grace. He laughs at the suggestion before saying,“I’m glad people think so. But really,it’s the script that drives the music. If the script is powerful and the director has a clear vision of what he wants,the music flows,” he says. Until now,he’s worked within his comfort zone — mostly with friends. Soon,he will be stepping out of it. Trivedi’s next is Pehla Sitara,a romantic indie film made by Owais Husain,who is the son of artist M F Husain.

For now,he is basking in the success of No One Killed Jessica’s music. The album was released a couple of days back and the track Dilli has already become a chartbuster,proving to be the next anthem for the Capital city after Rahman’s title track in Delhi-6. “We composed the song three years ago,well before Delhi-6 released. In fact,I had finished Dev.D when Raj Kumar came to me with the first three pages of his script and asked me to compose a song that could kick-start the film,capturing its mood,” recounts Trivedi.

Still,comparisons with Rahman make him uncomfortable. “He’s achieved what no other Indian musician could in all these years,” he exclaims,adding with a furrowed brow,“But it’s also scary. If people could criticise him so extensively despite a long and consistent career,I wonder where I’ll be if I take one wrong step.”