SON-RISE

Eight films in three years thats not too bad for a newcomer today,but yet,hardly any have been solo films.
True. After Dus Kahaniyan,Jimmy,C Kompany,Woodstock Villa,in which I worked out the Aryans song,Acid Factory and only two solo films Jai Veeru and Apartment I have now decided to do only solo films. I am in no hurry.

In the first three years of your fathers career he already had a hit in Zakhmee and the music release of Chalte Chalte.
I do not think that I can reach where dad did hes a legend. But for our generation things are in a sense much easier. My dad came in when no one could touch Laxmikant-Pyarelal,Kalyanji-Anandji and R.D.Burman and made his mark. I have got everything on a plate,sort of,though at one level,I must say that like star-kids,it is tougher too for us because we cannot escape comparisons with our parents.

Why does every second generation artiste think in terms of I cant go beyond my father or mother? Surely,you can all aspire to go beyond their benchmarks.
Yes,thats true. Maybe I will be able to go beyond or be better than him. But what I meant was the kind of work he and his generation did he would compose songs and background music for 30 films at a time and have so many releases and hit songs in a single year.

What are your professional priorities?
I believe in working very hard and doing 100 per cent original work. My father taught me to start working at an early age and has trained me to be a one-man army! I can compose,arrange,record a song and engineer my own sound with a studio right in my home. I want a slow and steady growth. I do not want the easy way out by using sample music that is readily available today and that music makers commonly resort to in songs. Tainu le,it was said,was inspired from some Punjabi folk song but it is not,it is 100 per cent my creation. Every song I have made has been created from zero to hundred by me in front of my friends or associates.

Does this craving for originality stem from the huge flak your father repeatedly faced for borrowing Western songs?
Not at all 8211; right from the beginning of film music,every composer has been inspired by some song,or has adapted a Western song. Some music directors like my father,Anu Malikjiand Pritamji,however,are branded this way.

Your father has been extensively trained in classical music,and your grandparents were also trained musicians. Have you had any formal training?
I have learnt the piano and I mostly compose on it. My grooming has been more on the Western classical side. At the practical level,I did a two-year recording and engineering course in London. And my biggest training has been in being with my father since I was in my 10th standard. I have assisted him in his background scores for films like Jung,Hum Tumhaare Hain Sanam,Love At Times Square,Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Maara and Mr Prime Minister.

Was Jung your passport to the first break with Sanjay Gupta?
It was! He offered me Alibaug,in which I have composed all the songs but the film is still to release,and then Dus Kahaniyan,which released in 2007. Then came Woodstock Villa and Acid Factory,For Sanjayji,I will break my rule of a solo film and do even half a song if he ever tells me!

What do you think of the current phase in music?
There is too much repetition of Sufi and Punjabi. But like you say,it is just a phase.

This year,audiences have opted big-time for rooted music,even your generation of listeners.
As music directors,we have to mix what the people like or want with what satisfies us as musicians. You cannot pander exclusively to either one of these. I have seen the era when my father worked with a hundred musicians in a huge studio. Later,it was my dad who brought computers into film music before anyone else. We have to understand that computers are dumb servants that make work faster and easier,but at the end it is the creative human side and the melody that really works. If you analyse film music over the decades,you will find that strong melody works even with poor production values,but the reverse never happens! Samples,gimmicks and such grandeur can be the garnishing,but unless the melody is there they are of no use. Coming to this year,a melody like Tere mast mast do nain from Dabangg is the kind that will work till infinity in India.

Dont you think that you need to have a hit with a big star to make a commercial impact?
Yes,a hit song with a superstar in a hit film does give an automatic career-push and changes everything. But I am proud of Tainu le that got recognised in a small film that did not even work at the box-office. I will get a big film with a big star-cast soon. I dream of the day when I will compose a song for Mr Amitabh Bachchan for whom dad composed massive hits. I am not in a race,I want to stay here for long. I have sincerely done whatever has come to me,big or small.

Do you miss your fathers loyal filmmakers who are no longer active or alive,like Prakash Mehra,K.Bapaiah and so on?
What I really feel bad about is the fact that the sons of my fathers contemporaries and seniors are not into music. I am the first third-generation film composer in India my grandfather Aparesh Lahiri is a legend in Bengal. I wish that the sons of R.D.Burman,Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Rajesh Roshan had been around in music too.

The composer in Hindi cinema was king at one time,with even Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan as strugglers approaching composers for breaks because of their clout. How do you see the composer today?
Frankly,I have seen later top stars approach my dad too! But today,we have to go after work and approach producers because there are so many of us. We,music directors,are solely responsible for this situation. Today,a music director with 10 super-hits to his name has to ask for work too!

And just imagine,the composers of those days had reached their stature after beginning as strugglers! Just two days ago,dad took me to see Galaxy Guest House in the suburbs,where he first stayed when he came to Mumbai to make it. All he had then was a harmonium,and my grandparents accompanied dad because they had faith in him. I have always lived in luxury and got whatever I wanted,and I better put it to good use!

What about regional films and albums?
I have been a part of the latest albums of Sophie Choudry and Shibani Kashyap. My Bengali film Hangover is a super-hit and my songs are topping the charts there today. Incidentally,I have also done work for television channels and shows and have composed the theme music for the Disney channel. I also do jingles overseas. Do you know that most of the major English jingles overseas nowadays are sourced from India?

Whom do you admire among todays composers?
I like Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Vishal-Shekhar,who may be going through a dull phase but I think will be around for a long time. I also like Pritams music as he has caught the pulse of the people. Then there is Himesh Reshammiya,who composes straight,simple songs that are completely original and often run on one loop to deliver so many hits like that is very tough!

When The Genes Rock

Bappa Lahiri is the latest second-generation music director in Hindi cinema. Here is a check-list of the genetic order:

Amar Mohile / son of Anil Mohile

Anand-Milind / Chitragupta

Anu Malik / Sardar Malik

Bhavatha Raja / Ilayaraja

Daboo Malik / Sardar Malik

Dilip Sen as Dilip Sen-Sameer Sen / Jamal Sen

Karthik Raja / Ilayaraja

Mithoon / Naresh Sharma

R.D.Burman / S.D.Burman

Rajesh Roshan / Roshan

Sameer Sen of Dilip Sen-Sameer Sen/Shambhu Sen

Sanjeev-Darshan / Nadeem- Shravan

Shambhu Sen / Jamal Sen

Sohail Sen / Dilip Sen- Sameer Sen

Utpal Biswas of Amar-Utpal / Anil Biswas

Viju Shah / Kalyanji-Anandji