Musically Yours: Sohail Sen : Bollywood News

My Background (Growing up years)

I belong to the fourth generation of musicians in my family. My great-grandfather Jamal Sen has composed music for movies like Daayra etc. My grandfather has composed music for films such as the Hema Malini starrer Mrig Trishna. They all were composers. My father Sameer Sen (of Dilip Sen- Sameer Sen duo) has also composed music for many hit films such as Aaina, Haqeeqat, Yeh Dillagi and Ziddi. So it was quite natural that I had to continue their legacy and follow in their footsteps. I started learning music at the age of 6 - 7 years. I learnt the piano for around 5 - 6 years from Mr. Tony Pinto. I also learnt the tabla for 3 years and learnt classical music from my grandfather.

My First Break

At the age of 13, I composed my first song and it was for a tele-film called Roshni. I had just returned from school for the recording and in front of me was Kavita Krishnamoorthyji ready to sing the song. In spite of the fact that I was just a 13 year old kid, she was very professional and didnt treat me like one. After years of learning music and honing my skills, I got my actual first break through Mr. Salim Aftab for the film Sirf. However, the film got delayed badly and took almost two years to release and my music went unnoticed.

The Turning Point

After my first film Sirf, I was a bit disappointed that the movie wasnt promoted too well. Besides, there was one more music director in the film which I was not happy about. At that very moment, I decided that in future I would only work in projects where I am the solo composer. I was always keen to work with Ashutosh Gowariker and my dad knew him from before. At that time he was looking for someone to compose the music for Whats Your Raashee? I asked dad to fix a meeting with him. My first meeting was a casual meeting at his office where I told him I would like to make him listen to some of my compositions. He immediately agreed to come to my studio the next morning. Ashuji came to my studio and heard some of my tunes and really liked what he heard. After a couple of weeks, Ashuji called me and we had a long discussion and suddenly he said You are on for this project. For me, it is the happiest day of my life.