A National Award can change many things,says music director Vipin Mishra. In his case,it has changed his world view. I used to believe that the only way to be successful in the film industry was by working in Bollywood. Non-Bollywood films couldnt take you places,or so I thought, he says. However,a year ago,he took up a documentary project called Narmeen for an FTII student in Pune. I won my first ever music award and that too a national award, says Mishra,34,who has been part of the music industry for more than a decade. Now,as he recovers from the euphoria of bringing home the National Film Award for Best Music Direction in the non-feature film category,Mishra has developed a more mellow view of non-Bollywood films. Narmeen,a 20-minute film set during Partition,revolves around a young Muslim mother Noor who is mourning the death of her daughter. Its as much about loss and longing as about identity and roots destroyed during the Partition, he says. The film was a diploma project of director Dipti Gogna. When Gogna handed Mishra the rough draft of the film,he decided to do away with the typical period-based treatment to the music. I was inspired by the visual treatment of the film,which wasnt like a regular Partition film, explains Mishra. He created a psychedelic soundtrack with chiming bells fused with western classical compositions,and used azaans (the prayer call of muezzins in mosques) and a choir in the middle of the track. It is difficult to classify the genre of the track, he says. The seven-minute track made critics sit up,and garnered the music director wide acclaim in the industry. It was the kind of fame that Mishras previous Bollywood films like Aloo Chaat and Mera Pehla Pehla Pyaar,and the music album for Lets Dance had not managed. My experimental concept had clicked, says the graduate from Delhi College of Arts and Commerce. Mishra has also been a guitarist for rock band Parikrama for six years,as well as a stand-in with Silk Route. Today,television commercials and Bollywood keep Mishra busy. He has recently finished a jingle for a Ford Figo commercial,as well as scores for Kusar Prasad Ka Bhoot,starring Paresh Rawal and Randeep Hooda. But,his doors are open to any documentary or offbeat filmmaker who might want to walk in.
