Aiming for the throne

The duo won the National award this year for the Marathi film Jogwa,but incredibly the film has not even had an audio release! Thats how things work nowadays! says Ajay wryly. Though the music is loved and downloaded,it is only now that they want to come out with the audio CD.

Ajay-Atul have worked on Hindi and Marathi cinema including Ram Gopal Varmas Gayab,AB Corps Viruddh and Mahesh Manjrekars Life Ho To Aisi besides the background score of Padmashree Laloo Prasad Yadav. They have also done Varmas Telugu film Shock and about 15 Marathi films,notably Savarkhed Ek Gaon,Jatra,Zabardast,Ulhadhal,Saade Maade Teen,Mumbai Aamchich,Ek Dav Dhobi Pachhad and their most popular score ever 8211; the recent Natarang.
Plays and jingles as well as theme tracks and background scores for soaps and TV shows are also a part of their oeuvre. In barely nine years,they have also annexed over 20 ! prestigious awards,including the V.Shantaram Puraskar for Best Music and Best Singer both for Natarang for films as well as plays!

Says Atul passionately. Our music should sound international in packaging,not Marathi only in appeal. Daler Mehndi,Michael Jackson and many more artistes have transcended regional or national barriers. So should the music of Maharashtra.
He goes on,And yet our music cannot move outside our roots and away from a films needs. We have proved that budgets are not everything 8211; music is about content and we can circumvent budgetary restrictions and still give quality and a big sound.

The brothers recall with amusement how their first professional assignment got them a measly 4000 rupees for composing and recording five songs! But we kept composing,and I remember our first producer being so shocked that we did not even own a harmonium that he brought one that was lying disused in his house! recalls Atul.

Their humble background,as sons of a senior government clerk who never stayed in one town or village for more than three years,ensured that the brothers never got any formal training in music. We had no source of learning music except for our passion and capacity to absorb, recalls Atul. Yes,our parents fully supported us 8211; my father would play the bulbul but after it broke he could not buy another 8211; and we kept self-educating ourselves and listening to whatever music we could. We discovered the violin,the bass guitar and other instruments,studied their weak and strong points and special qualities. So gradually we picked up arrangements,and later,programming.

Pipes in Ajay,We always believed in the best,even if we could not afford it. We waited but never compromised. Like we brought the best keyboard,but almost two years after we entered the profession. I remember telling our parents that this was the only help we needed from them 8211; instead of paying for our formal higher education that would cost them at least four lakh rupees,we asked them only for one lakh between us!

Smiles Atul,When we were to leave for Mumbai to buy the instrument,I could not sleep the previous night because so much money 8211; I had never seen a lakh rupees together before 8211; was lying in our house!

One more memory comes in as Atul says,We would travel to studios with our travel-bags along with the keyboard,not viewing all this as a struggle but as work for which we were actually being paid!

They owe a special debt to Pramod Shankar,then CEO of Times Music,for getting them the best team for Vishwa Vinayak. We were nobodies in 2001,but he believed in us! says Ajay.

But despite the sensational success of that album,things did not get moving immediately. We thought that the album would do for us what Tezaab did to Madhuri Dixit! laughs Atul. But it was only after six months or more that we began to get work! Around that time,we also approached Ram Gopal Varma as he was known to give breaks to new talent. He is a complete agnostic,but after listening to three songs from Vishwa Vinayak,he began explaining the song situations of Gayab,and while we were puzzled why he was doing so,he simply said,You are doing my film!

The discography of Ajay-Atul includes songs in all genres and their dedication is transparent when they say,We see to it that we never repeat ourselves. For example,we ensure that no subsequent song sounds like our huge hit Kombadi palaali , says Ajay.

Atul feels that every music director is basically a soul blessed by God. The fact that someone can compose a tune,he feels,is no mean achievement. We admire everyone,but a special favourite is Ilayaraja 8211; he is the one who made us realise early on that music is not just about dancing but about touching the depths of our soul. There should be atma soul even in rhythm,and a good song must bring gooseflesh to the listener! It is only then that music crosses all barriers,like the way everyone relates to Gurbani,Sant Namdeo or Un dous tres.

The brothers say that many Indian and Western giants made them learn what film music should be. The sound should match the grandeur of Cinemascope and yet not be crowded. For us,music must be larger than life, notes Atul. For example,songs and background scores for us means John Williams in Hollywood and Laxmikant-Pyarelals Ram Lakhan and Saudagar,Kalyanji-Anandji-Viju Shahs Tridev and R.D.Burmans Sholay. Today we do not hear that kind of sound,and we want to bring it back both to Marathi and Hindi films.

Why are they not doing Hindi films as of now? There are two big projects on the anvil, says Ajay. But we dont exactly run after Hindi films. Despite budgets being in multiple of Marathi films,they lay less importance on budgets for music, Adds Atul,We also must be allowed complete creative freedom. We cannot sound like everyone else just to please some parties who should not even be in charge of music in the first place!

Their musical USP is to use modern recording techniques,the latest in technology,the bigness of acoustics and rooted melody in a wholesome,fresh blend. How do they manage the tightrope act? We keep all track levels at zero first, reveals Atul. We then align the voice first and programme during the vocals. We also keep reading up the poetry of saints and music books and keep analysing every genre of music.

Fusion is something the brothers love,but only if it is done well. At the same time we want to bring back and popularise partly- or wholly-forgotten Indian instruments,like taasha, says Ajay. We like to experiment too,by using instruments not normally associated with a particular genre of song.

Have they had any bad experiences at work? Sure! We have seen filmmakers who expect creative artistes to deliver a great song or score in days,but take a month to sign the cheques due to us! laughs Ajay wryly.
And what is their work-ethic in terms of quantum of assignments? We do not want to manufacture 100 chairs. We would rather make one throne.