Even though Gehraiyaan might have drawn mixed reviews, it is the lyrics of the director, composer, musician and poet Ankur Tewari that have been making waves. In an interview with Harleen Kaur he talks about his melodies and more
Director, composer, musician and poet, Ankur Tewari, has worked in more than 50 films. Passionate about music, he hit the popularity charts with Gully Boy and Slumdog Millionaire. His latest, Gehraiyaan, is well-received by the audience. Excerpts
Can you please describe your work in Gehraiyaan?
I worked as a music supervisor who creates a musical palette for the film, tries and creates a blueprint of how the music will sound whether it's in songs, whether it's in the background score or whether it's in the licensed music, that you put in the background score. Blueprints are created so that everything — all the music — falls in the same family. I also ended up writing lyrics for one of the songs.
What was the experience like to work as a music supervisor?
It was quite an amazing project to be a part of, the script was so beautiful and well-crafted. It was a long process. We’ve worked on it for over a year and went through all the music, creating a sound, creating the palette for how the music should sound. We were very clear that the music should sound fresh and different, mainly because the characters in the film are young, urban, so the music had to have a matching flavour. We discovered what kind of music these guys must be listening to, we created fictional playlists for all the actors, for all the characters. What would Alisha be listening to, what would Sid's character be listening to, what would Ananya's character be listening to and then tried to make music that they would listen to.
How was it working with the film director, Shakun Batra?
It was incredible working with Shakun. He is so insightful and sensitive in the way that he tells a story. He has a very unique gaze in the way that he looks at films and stories. He makes everyone around him comfortable. People can express themselves freely. He encourages an environment of discussion and, at the same time, he is very persistent and doesn't give up till the very interesting end. It can even be frustrating at times because we feel that it's done but he just doesn't give up. He goes for it and digs for it, even at the last minute and it was quite amazing to see the passion with which he approaches his subject. I have taken a few notes from him and I will try to apply that to my work.
Could you please describe how it was different working for Doobey and Gehraiyaan?
I was supervising Doobey. We had to make Kausar Munir, who is a known lyricist and has such command over her craft come to a meeting point with OAFF and Savera as they were doing the score and the songs. They are relatively new and this is their first major mainstream work. They have only been working in the independent space. So, it was trying to make these two worlds meet, trying to create something through them, which expresses a story and at the same time is in the family of the world that we have created. It was very exciting to create Doobey with them. Both of them were very excited and full of ideas.
If I talk about Gehraiyaan, it just happened in phases because it was just going to be there initially, to promote the film and in the teaser, in which we ended up using an older song of OAFF, called Frontline. And because it's a Hindi film, we had to write Hindi lyrics so I scribbled down some lyrics which everyone liked. The promo worked and we decided to write the second verse, it just kept on growing. I never imagined that it was going to be a song in the film.
What were your emotions while writing lyrics for Gehraiyaan, the official track of the film?
I felt that we could encapsulate what Shakun was trying to say in the film.The whole idea of temptation and kind of knowing… something which is not right for you and yet giving in to it is universal as a thought. When all the words fell into place and all the words made sense, it felt that, yes, this is what I have been trying to say. So when the words came, 'Reh na sake', it felt that this is what the characters are feeling and then when the whole phrase, 'Tu marz hai dawa bhi' encapsulated what the characters are going through.
What is the difference between mainstream and Indie music?
Mainstream music would be supported by bigger money, by faces that people like in terms of the popular faces so it has a bigger reach. As independent musicians you make music and your limited fan base listens to it, shares it with their friends. But when you make music for a mainstream, then your Venn diagram kind of intersects with a bigger Venn diagram of the star or the production house or the music label, that has its own bigger fan base, more people get exposed to your music and the potential of your music reaching to more people is more, exciting.
Current and forthcoming projects?
I have just released a song called Aahista which is about moving slowly in life. The words go… 'humein aahista chalna hai tumhein hai waqt ki kami, jo khamoshi mein harkat hai vo shor-o-gul mein nahin'. I feel that life is about moving slow and easy and not over-burdening yourself with a lot of work.