Music director Tanishk Baghchi on giving old songs a new identity, starting from scratch and being an introvert in showbiz

Born to parents who were music teachers — a Punjabi mom and a Bengali father — music was something Bagchi ran from, not towards. “Music was around me. I was not keen to be a musician — as I felt there was no money in it. When you have no money, then the fruition of your passion takes a long time. I didn’t think that I had the patience for a long-drawn-out struggle. I had plans to be a pilot in the Air Force but because of an injury, early on, I couldn’t materialise this dream,” adds Bagchi, an almunus of City College, Kolkata.

School and college fests catapulted him to the stage, where he sang and performed — something that was an uphill task for the introvert. “Even today when I have to step out for a meeting, or a social event, I have to really prep. I am quite happy being in my studio with my work. But back then, I slowly edged into it and my mother said that I should keep at my music. I started teaching. I also collaborated with some DJs in Kolkata, where they started using my original compositions and spinning them in nightclubs. I wrote my own songs,” says Bagchi.

In early 2000s he landed in Mumbai, at the behest of his father. He composed bhajans for Sanskar channel — and slept in the same office. It’s then he met with his now frequent collaborator Vayu. They put up a song on YouTube, which got two lakh views — and a meeting with Anurag Kashyap. Things moved up when he met with director Aanand L Rai, and the work for his first song Banno, for the film Tanu Weds Manu Returns, began. “We met Aanand Sir, and he told us about the situation – an open brief of a shaadi — and he said that he liked the zone that we both came from. That’s how Banno tera swagger came into being. It was the first break for us,” adds the song producer.

There has been no looking back for Bagchi. Almost every hit film has his songs — original and recreations. His name has popped up even on Koffee with Karan this season, twice. He has also been at the receiving end for barbs and brickbats — for his recreations. “People think that recreations are no work, ki bas bass badha do, beats daal do. I have approached every recreations as if they are 100 per cent new songs. I got the Golmaal team in it, used the hee-ho-ha, thing. I only take the melody from the old school, I only get the hook. For a recreation, I line up more than 500 sounds for the song.It’s like breaking an old building and taking it into a redevelopment. Main SRA building tod raha hun aur ek tower khada kar rahan hun, ,” adds Bagchi, who attributes Bally Sagoo as the one great remake king. “I am kicked about next year. I have more than 100 songs coming out,” he says, signing off.