There have been numerous composer-lyricist pairs that have made their mark. Mithoon and Sayeed Quadri form one such combination 
By Joginder Tuteja, May 23, 2007 - 09:37 IST
There have been numerous composer-lyricist 'jodi's that have made their mark ever since music became an integral part of Bollywood flicks more than half a century back. In the current times, one such 'jodi' which is fast emerging as one of the most successful and popular in recent times is that of Mithoon and Sayeed Quadri.
As the music of The Train continues to make a big splash on the stands, first part of this exclusive feature sees Mithoon speaking to Joginder Tuteja about his association with Sayeed Quadri and what makes it special.
As narrated by Mithoon:
My career graph saw an entry point with 'Woh Lamhe' [Zeher] and 'Juda Hoke Bhi - Aadat' [Kalyug]. As you know, these are not my original songs and I was asked by Mr. Mukesh Bhatt to recreate the tracks while keeping the basic essence of the musical expressions intact. It didn't involve just working on the orchestra but also getting it re-written. This is where Quadri bhai [Sayeed Quadri] was roped in.
Since he stays in Jodhpur, I was introduced to him over the phone and I sung the original song to him. I sent him the CD and he pronto came back with 'Woh Lamhe' as you hear today.
In case of 'Juda Hoke', I got into a direct interaction with him. You would be surprised to know but as soon as I sung the 'mukhda' of the original, he was ready with the opening lyrics 'Juda Hoke' and that too in a matter of 60-80 seconds. I was zapped at the speed with which he delivered the 'mukhda' and this is when I started respecting him immensely.
When the music launch of Kalyug happened in Mumbai, we came face to face. There were good reviews all around for the track that we had ended up making together. I have learnt a lot about poetry from Sayeed bhai and he has an immense contribution to make in the music which I compose today.
On speaking to him over phone, he appears to be a serious guy due to his brooding voice. But meet him in real life and you would see a 40 something smartly attired man wearing shirt and jeans like anyone else. There is a certain 'shaairana andaaz' in the way he speaks.
He exudes such positive vibes that it is impossible not to enjoy his company. He is much more than just being a professional associate. He is a God sent person and I am glad to have found him at such an early stage of my life.
In fact, Sayeed bhai has a big hand in where I am today. After 'Woh Lamhe' and 'Juda Hoke', I was looking for work. This is when after my father, even Sayeed bhai told me to do something completely of my own. He told me that playing around with the orchestra was good but as a composer one would get a different feeling altogether as you get started on things from the very basics.
After my father, if I have to look for advice and share ideas, it is Sayeed Quadri. A nice-n-warm person, he consistently looks at coming up with new expressions in music as we all have been seeing in his work over the years. His strength lies in the fact that he comes up with simple words even for the most complex situations.
For him, it is not just about creating a song. Instead a song is a scene for him which should have visual as well as audio strength to keep the audience engaged. This is where his strength lies as realizes the importance of making things comprehendible.
He just doesn't look at creating a song which turns out to be a hit song. Many people believe in doing so but not him. For him, a song should be of the kind with which people can emotionally bond themselves to. They should come from the story itself and stay on to be a part of that.
Something similar can be seen in the music of The Train. If you notice 'Woh Ajnabee', it is about a stranger who is giving out strong vibes. At this moment, most of the people tell him that they want a Sayeed Quadri kind of a song. Mark my words, there would be much more fun when someone challenges him by asking him to deliver something which is not conventionally Sayeed Quadri. If you look at the song 'Kar Salaam' [Metro], even there the lyrics are of the kind that boast of poetry which is so un-Quadri!
Sayeed bhai doesn't believe in product delivery kind of approach when making songs. Instead he himself gets into a situation and attempts at spinning words which suit the required mood.
The reason I can cite for his sensitive approach towards writing songs is the fact that he has seen failure in his life. He has seen life very closely and has a very good idea about the worldly ways. If you hear his 'Rishtey' [Metro], you would see how much he had in his mind about relationships and the way they came out in words.
It is the same idea about life that made him write a beautiful track like 'Mausam' [The Train]. I simply love the lyrics there. One has to closely observe the reason behind the kind of lyrics that 'Mausam' boasts of! Some people are not very happy with the way things have worked in their lives and for them it would be quite easy to identify with 'Mausam'.
In our short working relationship so far, we haven't really got stuck at any particular point in a major way while creating a song. The way we work, we leave each other with a lot of open space to experiment and come up with what works best for a situation in the film.
I can cite of a recent example when we were struggling to get something work for a song situation. I wasn't quite happy with the way entire concept was building up and shared my reservations about the same. The good part was that even he was having similar thoughts so we scrapped it all and started working on it afresh. The point was to not leave the place till we got it completely right. By the time it was mid-night, we were right on track and got what we both wanted. So you know, by the grace of God, this is the way our tuning has been working well so far.
I am a big fan of his work and love to listen to his work like any other listener. Also, it is not that we both have vowed to be working only with each other. Bollywood music industry is such a place that favoritism just doesn't work. We are open to be working with other people too as it is only mutually beneficial for our growth.
[Watch out for this space tomorrow as Part II of this conversation sees Sayeed Quadri talking about his association with Mithoon]
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Mithoon replaces Himesh Reshammiya for 'Train'
