International music composer Qaran Mehta speaks with SHAlINI SAKSENA about his composition for Tareefan from the film Veere Di Wedding
Why Karan with a ‘Q’ij
It is just that it is a name that I have had. I was nicknamed ‘Q’ for the longest time and it kind of stuck.
From composing in English to now in Hindi. How has the transition beenij
I have been in India for about five years now. To begin with, it was a bit of a culture shock. But the genre of Bollywood has been drawing a lot from the West for the last three or four years. So the transition is mostly linguistic. Making music in Hindi is my daily work right now.
Where is the Western influence in Bollywood coming fromij
Globalisation and the method of music consumption have changed things a lot in Bollywood. With the advent of technology and the streaming has made a difference. The easy accessibility to those forms of music has changed the tastes among the public. That being said, while there may be western production techniques being used, Indian music is very inherently Indian.
Your musical journey began in Singapore then took you to the UK and now India. Tell us about it.
It has been over 10 years. When I was about seven or eight, I took guitar classes and hated it. But I used to always listen to music. Around the same time, I was gifted a Walkman and you know how things are with tapes. Once you have that one tape you listen to it day in day out. So I had this tape with 80s-90s songs — R&B and pop. I played this for a year-and-a-half. The music in that tape influences me till today.
What threw me into creating music was in 2006 when a friend of mine got me into the DJ circle that led me to making my songs. Then I went to the UK. The first break came when I connected with an lA produced Jack Elliot who has worked with the likes of Back Street Boys and Britney. I did a lot of work with him.
Then I did my masters in Audio Production and moved back to India where I worked at a studio and bumped with Shankar-Ehsaan-loy, worked them on Kill Dil; then connected with Pritam. A couple of years back, I decided to go solo and do my own thing.
You were part of the video in the song Tareefan. How was the experienceij
It was fantastic. Working with Rhea Kapoor and being choreographed by Farah Khan was great. I remember watching Main Hoon Na, as a kid and loved it. Being directed by her and Bobby Verman as director of photography for the song was amazing. The way things came alive was brilliant.
The song was composed on a flight. How did that happenij
I had some urgent work in Delhi and had to fly from Mumbai. There is something about being at 40,000 feet in the sky — it is a great conducive creative environment. There are no distractions. The basic composition of the song took place on the flight on an app called Cubasis which I use for such occasions. Once back in Mumbai it was refined.
What platform is better for an artist like yourself — working internationally or in Indiaij
While working overseas is great as it gives you an opportunity to work with many artistes, there is something about India that you don’t find anywhere in the world. The Indian music industry is at a cross-road where a lot happening now. Sound here changes every few weeks. People are receptive to new idea and sounds. It is exciting times to be here.
Is that why so many international artists are coming to Indiaij
International artists aren’t under any illusion. They are aware of the billion-plus market. We are spread across all over the world. We can’t be ignored. So, international artists want to be a part of the Indian market and Indian listeners. Globalisation has done a lot.
What nextij
I have got a few singles coming out.