TOP OF THE POPS

For this talented trio, coming out with a super-hit musical score is nothing new. Just check out their CV: Dil Chahta Hai, Bunty Aur Babli, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Salaam-E-Ishq, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Don8212;The Chase Begins, Johnny Gaddaar, Taare Zameen Par and that8217;s just naming a few and you see how versatile their melodies have been. And now, Rock On!!8217;s success has made them the new poster boys of rock music in Bollywood. Just for the record, the Rock On!! soundtrack ranks 13th on the iTunes world music charts.

No wonder Ehsaan Noorani, whose guitar riffs power the signature sound of Rock On!!, terms it as the 8220;most satisfying album8221; of his career. He scoffs at purists who claim the music of the Farhan Akhtar-starrer is anything but rock. 8220;The sound of the film is close to the 8217;80s and 8217;90s rock. It8217;s just because the lyrics are in Hindi that people are saying all this rubbish. What I want to ask them is who has set the rules for music, especially rock music which is about no rules,8221; thunders Ehsaan.

We are at Purple Haze R.I.P. Jimi Hendrix!, the trio8217;s lemon-and-white recording studio in Bandra where it8217;s the beginning of a new workday. Newbie director Ayaan Mukherjee who is helming Karan Johar8217;s production, Wake Up Sid, with Ranbir Kapoor walks in for his music recording. The mastering engineer tells Ehsaan that the legendary rock guitarist, Jeff Beck, loved the album when he heard it being mastered in a recording studio in New York.

Shankar Mahadevan strolls in wearing rubber slippers and enquires about the whereabouts of Loy Mendonsa. Ehsaan gleefully tells him that Loy is at the bank since he has again forgotten the pin number of his debit card. The smile on their face is clear indication that this is a regular Loy thing. 8220;Oh yeah, he8217;s a true artiste8230; an astral traveler. He8217;s eccentric, our Loy,8221; grins Ehsaan.

Shankar pips in with his own Loy stories. The keyboard synthesizer expert got the names of Karan Johar8217;s forthcoming film, My Name Is Khan, mixed with Singh is Kinng and referred to it as 8220;My Name Is King8221;. As Ehsaan cracks up, Shankar shares yet another pearl that has all of us in splits. In all the eight years of their association with Farhan8217;s business partner, Ritesh Sidhwani, Loy has been calling him Hrithik! But the leg pulling is all in good fun; both Shankar and Ehsaan swear by Loy8217;s genius. 8220;Whenever we are recording together, I jump and hit the capture button so that we record whatever Loy has created. He is such a pure artiste8230; so spiritual8230;that if you ask him to play the same tune again, he won8217;t remember it. His music is all about the gaps and the silences and the intervals. He8217;s amazing,8221; says Shankar. To which Ehsaan adds, 8220;Loy has a halo around his head. The way he plays the keyboard it8217;s as if God is playing it.8221;

This spirit of camaraderie and mutual respect makes SEL such a power-packed team. You can sense here are three guys who are genuinely fond of each other. Making music for them is a lot about having fun. Though, there are plenty of slanging matches and walkouts8212;mostly by the volatile Ehsaan, who Loy claims, 8220;storms out of the studio at least once a day.8221; Shankar gets the vote for being the 8220;most patient8221;. They work together five days a week but follow a strict dictum of not even taking each other8217;s calls on weekends. 8220;It8217;s an unwritten rule. We need to disconnect, otherwise we8217;ll go crazy,8221; says Loy.

The trio recounts numerous instances when they8217;ve fought over a tune all day long, finalised it at night, only to have one of them come up next morning and demand a change. There have also been instances when music pieces recorded for a particular film are used for another film. Examples: Rock On!!8217;s Tum ho toh was actually recorded for Taare Zameen Par and Salaam-E-Ishq8217;s Naa re saiyaan was for Kal Ho Naa Ho.

Shankar compares the trio8217;s style of working with that of a water purifier! 8220;It8217;s like we are an Aquaguard with three filters! The water has been purified three times. We are our best critics. Getting two people to agree on one thing is tough and here it8217;s the three of us. It8217;s gruelling but when we agree on a tune, we know it has to be good,8221; says Shankar.

For Loy, music is about spirituality. 8220;A musician embarks on a personal journey; it becomes music when people become a part of it. One tries to satisfy one8217;s soul and those of the music lovers. Ultimately music has to be a healing process.8221;

Quiz them about their enviable track record of signing all the right projects save the dismal Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic and Ehsaan says, 8220;We just need to be inspired, really turned on about the project.8221; Loy feels SEL is all about making music that goes beyond the film. For Shankar, it8217;s about simplicity with a good aesthetic sense. 8220;You have to understand all three of us feel truly blessed to be associated with music. We just want to chill and make melodies. I like the fact that I can come in the studio wearing rubber slippers and not be answerable to anyone. It8217;s all about making magic. We don8217;t know the trick but we8217;re glad we can do it again and again,8221; says Shankar.
So are we.

HIT LIST SEL
Best Works: Dil Chahta Hai, Rock On!!, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom Ehsaan adds Lakshya to the list with an, 8220;It8217;s one of our best. I don8217;t care what anyone says.8221;
Brand SEL is all about: Music Loy; eclectic music Ehsaan; the entire spectrum Shankar
Rival8217;s Score: AR Rahman unanimous, Ehsaan names Vishal 038; Shekhar and Amit Trivedi while Shankar lists Ismail Durbar
Wish We Had Composed This: Om Shanti Om Loy liked the film but doesn8217;t wish he had composed for it, 8220;I8217;m a little forgiving,8221; he jests
Most Played on iPod: Pink Floyd8217;s Us and Them Ehsaan, Linkin Park Shankar, Saving Private Ryan8217;s Hymn To The Fallen Loy
Voice of India: Though all of them agree that there is no one playback voice of the country, among the female playback singers, they find Shreya Ghosal is best suited: ethereal, phenomenal, fantastic are the words they use for her.
Kishore Kumar or Mohd Rafi: Kishore Kumar unanimous
Loy Mendonsa was making music for tele shows like Siddhartha Basu8217;s Quiz Time and Pranoy Roy8217;s The World This Week in Delhi. He met Ehsaan Noorani and Shankar Mahadevan at an ad shoot for Pepsi, which he was co-producing. Mukul Anand was directing the ad. Ehsaan was doing the guitar jingle while Shankar was doing the vocals. They clicked. SEL was formed. Mukul Anand8217;s aborted Dus was their first film as a team.