National Award winner music composer, SHASHWAT SACHDEV, makes his singing debut with Machlo. He speaks with SHALINI SAKSENA about what made him take to singing, why he came back to India and Bollywood journey

You are a composer-producer. What made you take to singing?

I started learning Hindustani Classical Vocal at a very young age, I was three and continued to do so for 21 years from my guru Ustad Ramzan Khan saheb. I also learnt Western piano for 10 years. Singing, therefore is an integral part of my composing and producing. Hence, I have always been singing.

How was the experience of being at the other end of the studio?

I have also been recording on a mis are normal for me. Most of the tracks that I produce, compose and record are sung by me; before anybody else records them even though this is only a small part of producing music.

How did your music journey begin?

My parents were very particular that I learn music as part of how to be more disciplined in life. I moved to Mumbai in 2017. My first was Phillauri and released the same year. Learning Indian classical music is important. I believe it is part and parcel of life in people who are from small towns. For me, music began as a hobby; it was much later that I decided to take it up as a profession. Producing and composing for films is the most important part in the business. I am glad and blessed that I am getting an opportunity to work with the industry.

You worked on a few projects in the US. Why come back to India?

I had worked on huge projects in the US. But there were smaller aspects of these projects that I was working on. I was not getting an opportunity to express my creativity or be the kind of music I wanted to do. Since I had so much training in Indian music everybody told me I should be making Indian music. Hence, I came back.

How did you end up in Bollywood?

I met Rhea Kapoor (film producer) in 2016 and motivated me to come back to India. She gave me a project that she was working on. This was the beginning for me. I am extremely grateful to her that this project kickstarted my journey in the industry. I will forever remain indebted to her. The opportunity that she gave me helped me gain confidence and believe in myself that I had a future here. It gave me courage and fearlessness to continue on this path.

You have composed for web series, TV series and films. How are the three platforms different?

In the long format, the opportunity to express oneself is much longer. However, the long format shows are more difficult to score than films. In films, if one works on a project, say for six months, there is a certain kind of content that has been created during this period and the entire team is involved and chooses the best part and puts it out in the movie. But in a long format that is, say for 10 hours, you get the same amount of time for a lot of content. The quality of content that you create has to be consistent for the entire duration. After a while, this takes a toll. I respect those who create music for this format.

What next?

I have a few movies planned this year and a couple of projects are in the pipeline for next year. I am excited for the new music that will come out soon. I hope that the fun that I had during the making of these songs, the listeners have just as much fun when they hear it.