Amit Trivedi’s soundtrack for Lootera is the toast of the town at the moment. The music composer-singer began his career as a composer in Bollywood with Aamir, followed it up with the unique Dev D and then added titles such as Udaan, Aisha, English Vinglish, Kai Po Che, Ishaqzaade and Aiyaa to his resume. His songs and background score will be heard in the forthcoming releases, Ghanchakkar and Loootera. More from him:
Which soundtrack stands out as an aberration in your career thus far?
You do things for the sake of sur-vival, like Aiyaa. I tried my hand at it but the film didn’t do well. I am a director’s guy. If I am asked to create a song where a Maharashtrian middle class girl falls in love with a Tamil guy and she’s watching midnight masala, then I have to come up with some-thing. I made Dreamum Wakeupum.
Some listeners alleged that the theme tune of Lootera was a lift of another tune.
While I was composing Shikayatein a year back, after the antara I wanted to bring back the mukhda but I wanted a bridge piece in between, so I put in a throwaway piece. I sent it to Vikram and he loved it. After a few months he said let’s make that middle piece the love theme of the film. There was a lot of back and forth on the teaser. The day the teaser came out we learnt there is a film called One Day and a composer called Rachel Portman. I agree that the beginning of that track is a little similar, but that is pure coincidence.
Which directors have you enjoyed collaborating with the most?
Vikramadiyta (Motwane) is phenomenal. He knows his music and his craft so well. Anurag Kashyap is a beast. When you are working with Kashyap, you are automatically coming up with something out of the box. I am working on his Bombay Velvet next. Rajkumar Gupta is an amazing storyteller and Ghanchakkar is a kickass film. Gauri Shinde’s writing and sense of music are strong. Abhishek Kapoor is passionate and a fireball. Habib Faisal is calm, controlled, easy and methodical.