Kya bikega,kya pitega?,Vidhu just doesnt care-Shantanu Moitra

By Bollywood Hungama -

January 1, 2009 - 12:00 AM IST

It doesnt happen too often, but once you hear Parineeta, you dont feel like referring to the music as number or track, you want to call it songs. Take a bow Shantanu; you have somewhere returned lost respectability to film music. In a conversation with the reticent music director, he tells us that he thrives on nostalgia and as we found out, Parineeta does too

What was the brief given to you by the makers?
The brief was, This is the opportunity of a lifetime; we dont want you to give us a great line, what we are looking for is good music. We want you to capture the romanticism, the innocence and the simplicity of the bygone era. If you can give us that, consider your job done Ironically, I too am the kind of person who feeds on these very elements, so the moment I got the brief, I was on fire.

On your part, what is that one element that you wanted to see in Parineetas music?
You know what, I am a little disturbed with the Gen-X need to scream every emotion. I enjoy the silences far better and that is something I have tried to incorporate in Parineeta. The void, the empty spaces, they interest me immensely. And thats from where a Raat Hamari Woh germinated. I am not a big fan of serving emotions on a platter, it should grow on you. Parineeta does the exact same thing to listeners.

The one thing that strikes you best about Parineeta is nostalgia. What do you say to that?
You know there is a saying that Bengalis thrive on history, likewise, I thrive on nostalgia!

Have there been any reference points for your music?
Plenty! I have grown on the music of S D Burman, Salil Chaudhary and the likes. I have always believed that sixties were the golden period of Hindi music. And here I was in the august company of people I have always admired, being asked to create music. I have always wanted to create music like this but unfortunately; there havent been takers for it. So, when Parineeta happened, there was no stopping me.

Can we talk a bit about the Kaisi Paheli Hain Zindagani, the one featuring Rekha?
Sure, it is a club song of the sixties. You know, during those days, these kind of songs used to be rich in philosophy. They gave out messages on life which were unique! With Kaisi Paheli, we did just that. It is soft, lilting and has a definite attitude!

Remote chances but still let me ask you, do you have any favorites in the album?
The train journey angle has always fascinated me, so Kasto Mazza is one track that I thoroughly enjoyed creating. Raat Hamari Woh is another favorite with me because it has great usage of silence and Piyu Bole also in some ways, because I can almost hear the lines in Bengali.

Was there any pressure from Vidhu that required you to keep the album saleable?
Let me tell you that Vidhu Vinod Chopra is unique. He is never perturbed my thoughts like, Kya bikega, kya pitega? He just doesnt care about the profit-loss balance sheet. Vidhus sole mantra is Lets create good music and market will follow. And that definitely made my life easy!