With over 18 million views on YouTube for their single Hawa Hawa from the upcoming movie Mubarakan, and seven million views for Beparwah from Munna Michael, music composer duo, Gourov-Roshin has become the talk of B-Town.
The pair-up topped the charts when they recreated Saara Zamana, a 1981 Bachchan hit, in Hrithik Roshan’s Kaabil in 2017.
Gourov Das Gupta’s tryst with music is nothing less than a Bollywood story. “At 16, my folks got divorced and I ran away from my house,” recalls the 36-year-old. Soon he began to perform with heavy metal rock bands in Kolkata. He was not just another teen with a yen for guitar. “By the age of 18, I won almost all the awards for guitar playing in the country,” reveals Gourov.
With a less dramatic yet musically inclined background comes the 32-year-old Roshin Balu. Born in Thalasery, Kerala, Roshin is the son of Thalassery Balu Master, who has been running a successful music institute there for 40 years. “Music was never a stranger to me. Therefore, heading to Chennai for a sound engineering course was a natural progression,” explains Roshin.
Chennai connect
They started their individual careers in Chennai. Even though they were acquainted through a common friend, the ice wasn’t broken until 2006 in Mumbai. “I was working for a music company that provides sound bites for companies abroad whereas Gourov worked for Big FM’s music department,” says Roshin. The midnight music jams did very little to assuage the artistes’ pursuit of good music. “After a point, we realised that we were working a lot and doing injustice to our passion. That’s when we decided to quit our jobs,” says Gourov with a grin.
Partners for life
The music for the 2007 flick Dus Kahaniyaan was their ticket to fame. “The entire sound track of Dus Kahaniyaan was made on our laptops,” reveals Roshin, adding, “We bought Mercury speakers for Rs 1,500 and recorded all the tracks, sitting on a mattress.”
While composing tunes in their Borivali flat, feasting on Maggi and Parle-G, this team of musicians became partners for life. Gourov says, “Ending the partnership will never feature on the cards. We will never be able to work alone.” Going forward, the duo will be working on music for Deepak Tijori’s directorial venture Tom, Dick and Harry.