From popular singles getting featured in Bollywood movies, to multiple composers creating amazing music, there is enough room for innovation in the industry today. Ankit Tiwari and Arko Mukherjee tell Sangeeta Yadav what to watch out for in the coming years
From a demo singer to being officially a playback singer, director and lyricist Arko Mukherjee got his break with his song Saathi re in the movie Kapoor & Sons. He tells you that this song is special because of its soothing melody. “This song is very special as it is an integral part of the film. Director Shakun Batra decided not to reveal the video until the film is out. People used to joke about me by calling me ‘the famous demo singer’. Then came the news that Karan Johar wanted to use my voice. That was such a big surprise and a turning point for me,” Mukherjee says.
However this lyricst-composer who has some hit compositions to his credit like Abhi abhi, Yeh jism hai toh kya and Maula from Jism 2, Allah waariyan from Yaariyan, Aaj phir tumpe pyaar aaya hai from Hate Story 2 etc tells you that before he forayed into singing Hindi songs he sang English songs.
He has a list of firsts as well. For the first time he gave his voice to the composition of Manoj Muntashir who wrote Galiyan for the film Ek Villain movie. “I’m not a trained playback singer, and come from a western music background. Hence, my voice is different from a trained playback singer’s,” he says.
looking at the trend of multiple composers and music directors working together on a movie album, Mukherjee opines that it has given rise to a happy union and co-existence of singers in the music industry. “Be it Amaal Malik, Ankit Tiwari or Jeet Ganguly, more than the rival composers, we are friends who believe in helping each other to improve over time. We are happy for each other and it’s a very positive vibe that we share. It’s high time for collaborations of two different styles in a song,” Mukherjee says, who is all set with his next playback song for the movie Baar Baar Dekho which is yet to be released.
Though music industry has evolved manifold, there are a few problems that need to be ironed out, he points out. “First is related to the royalty. Even after getting the Copyright Act amended in 2012, nothing much has been done to establish a proper system for royalty collection. A country like the UK doesn’t produce one-tenth of the music that we do. But their singers collect 500 times more royalty than us. They have a process in place. In our country, collection of royalty is just on paper. There are bodies which are trying to change this and one hopes that this will be resolved soon,” he says.
The second, he says, is the substandard music that is being created in India due to advancement in technology. “Technology has given exposure to amazing sound. But there is a lot of substandard material online. Earlier there was less music and quality control. But now there are all kinds of softwares and access to sounds. Anybody can become a composer today. They have forgotten that it is the melody and writing that makes for a great song,” he says, adding that one genre that has come of age is Bollywood Dance Music (BDM). “All kinds of music has always been there. It’s only dance music that changes with new beat and sound,” Mukherjee says.
He shot to fame with his debut song Sunn raha hai na tu from the movie Aashiqui 2 and went on to give chartbuster hits like Galiyan from Ek Villain, Tu hai ki nahi from Roy and Dil cheez tujhe dedi from Airlift. Ankit Tiwari is definitely is basking in all the fame and is ready with is next song Alfazon ki tarah from the movie Rocky Handsome which is already a hit. This music director, singer and composer is all set to foray in singles and working on his next two big projects Baaghi featuring Tiger Shroff and Shraddha Kapoor and Rustom featuring Akshay Kumar.
“I try to surprise the audience with new elements be it in lyrics or use of instruments. Alfazon... is a very different song written by Abhendra Kumar Upadhyay with whom I worked in Roy. In this song, there are some alaaps which I sung for the first time and really difficult to get it right. Only if one is trained in Indian classical singing, can they hit the right chord,” Tiwari says.
Now that the rage of singles is here, the next big thing is music directors buying the royalty of the singles to be used in the movies. Kar gayi chull from the movie Kapoor & Sons became a hit as soon as it was launched. Dharma Production bought the royalty of this song sung by Fazilpuria and Badshah to be featured on Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra. Earlier also Dharma Productions had bought the song by Badshah and Indeep Bakshi titled Saturday saturday for Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania.
“This is the new wave and an extension of the Hollywood trend in the Indian music scene. Music is one of the main pillars of Bollywood movies. In Hollywood, a single is made and if it becomes a hit and is liked by the music producers, then they use it in their film as well. The same is happening in India Though this trend is at its nascent stage in India, it will become big soon,” Tiwari tells you.
With the evolving trend and change in the Indian music, there is one thing that never goes off demand and that is melodies. “Melodies are like daal chawal, there is a demand for it everyday. You will never forget and get bored of listening to the songs of Aashiqui 2 and Ek Villain and classic melodies of Nadeem Shravan, Kishore Kumar and lata Mangeshkar,” Tiwari says.
Talking about bringing an innovation in his songs, Tiwari says: “In our industry, you hear it and learn. The way industry is evolving, if a singer has that intellect, he will automatically adapt to the changing trend. If I feel the need to go through the training to bring something new for my song, I would definitely go for it. I’m still a student. It takes hard work to produce quality songs for you to stand out in the crowd. Just believe in yourself and give it your best; one day you will set a new trend,” Tiwari tells you.