Music composer Pritam talks about the soundtrack of Dhoom 
By IndiaFM News Bureau, August 24, 2004 - 03:00 IST
Warm, pleasant and cheerful. Meet Pritam, the talented composer who has swept music charts with his dishy tracks from Dhoom. With a PNC project Ashq, prestigious brand campaigns and popular serial scores in his kitty, Pritam is enjoying the success of this Yash Raj project.
In an interview with IndiaFM, the music man hits a high note as we discuss the chartbusting album this season, Dhoom.
Action as a genre doesn't invite music. So, scoring must have been a challenge. How did you manage?
Yes, I agree. Actions films are not kind to music. So, you have to create the space for music. Also, the narrative shouldn't be hurt. So one has to be cautious while scoring for an action flick. The flavor of the film should be kept intact too. All these elements do make composing for action tricky.
The title track 'Dhoom' is quite popular. Tell us your experience while composing it.
Have to admit; I never saw it as a big song. But Adi [Aditya Chopra] and Sanjay [Gadhvi] had a huge vision for it. They had immense belief in the song. And kept telling me that it is a bigger number than my previous work, 'Sharara sharara...' And now that the track is topping charts, I think they were so right with their instinct!
The track has a heavy western orchestrization. Comment.
I was informed that this particular song was a stage show to be picturised on Esha Deol. Fast- paced, energetic, and peppy is how I saw it. So when you hear the track, you will get a lot of groovy tunes. The color of orchestrization is very upbeat. Also, none of the tracks are a one-off. They all belong to one sound design, one family.
Besides Sunidhi, Tata Young is also machaoing Dhoom. Tell us about it.
For the Tata Young video, I programmed another track. The essence remains same, but the treatment is different. So listeners get a different flavor. And now to let out a little secret, I tried placing Tata's voice on the Sunidhi track but it just didn't seem to work. That's when we decided on an all-new programming. And now I think the Hindi-English blend in both the tracks works great!
Which is your favorite from the two? And let me tell you, 'both' is not an acceptable answer.
[Laughs] Oh no…I really like both the tracks. Hmm…okay, fine. If I had to take a pick, it would be the Tata's track, for the simple reason that, since it was a promotional video, we didn't have to stick to the script situations. We simply went wild creating it. We have fused a lot of wacky sounds into the track giving it a lot of pace, energy and drive!
The tracks Dilbara & Shikdum make a second entry in the film. Any particular reason?
We wanted Abhishek's voice in the track. So you have a reprise of Shikdum. As for Dilbara, the first version is mild and fun. While the second is a faster, itemized music piece.
The Dhoom album has a bouquet of singers. You have used Shaan, Shreya, Kunal and Soumya. How did you decide on the voice?
Casting a singer is like casting a character. He or she should be able to suit the mood of the melody and the actor. A Jagjit Singh cannot sound an Uday Chopra. Talking of Dhoom, Shaan suits Abhishek perfectly well. I could hear a lot of Shreya in Rimii. Similarly, Abhijeet moulded his voice to sound like Uday. So I would like to say that Dhoom is a case of perfect playback casting.
Who's your favorite playback singer?
Kishore Da' is my absolute favorite. That man makes me laugh, cry, sing, fall in love, all of it. He is my dream voice and I would have loved to record with him. Besides him, I have worked with Lataji on some bhajans and Ashaji of course in 'Sharara…' So that sums my dream cast.
Amongst the current crop…
Among today's tribe, hmmm...I actually love all of them. Uditji, Sonu, Shaan, Abhijeet are superb. KK, Kunal have great potential too. I can't really pick and choose. Each of them have a fresh flavor, a new sound to the ear. So, it's equally exciting to work with each of them.
Music composers often complain that a track is killed due to tacky picturization. What is the case with Dhoom?
As a composer, I always visualize the tracks while composing them. Dhoom was no different. Add to that, Sanjay's been a close friend, so the details were very well worked out. I have zero complaints with Dhoom. Instead, I think the 'Shikdum' track is superbly picturised. The chemistry between the characters (Abhishek-Rimii) further elevates the song. 'Salami' towards the end reel is another expertly choreographed number.
Pipeline projects…
Apart from scoring for serials like Ayushman, Dekho Magar Pyar Se, Yeh Meri Life Hain and Astitva on the television, a Pritish Nandy project Ashq is ready. And I am very happy with the way the music score has shaped up. If backed by effective promotions, I think it has the potential to be a hit.
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