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Melody men

Music composers Vishal and Shekhar tell ANUJ KUMAR what makes them tick

TWO TO TANGO Vishal-Shekhar feel it's the script that should dictate the music They are among the new faces of Bollywood music. Faces that are adamant to take Bollywood music beyond the staple 'hey hey'. Meet Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani, the music directors who made their presence felt with Jhankar Beats, established that they are going to stay with Kaante and proved their versatility with scores in films like Dus, Salaam Namaste, Bluffmaster, Honeymoon Travels Private Limited and now Ta Ra Rum Pum, whose music has just hit the charts. The start Going down memory lane, Vishal says, "We met during Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi where both Shekhar and I were working, but not as a team." Vishal composed the popular "Musu Musu" and Shekhar composed some other numbers. "It was during that period that we realised we share the same wavelength and can gel as a team. I was already the vocalist and composer in the Pentagram band and was always on the lookout for new sounds. Shekhar, on the other hand, came across as a person with a deep knowledge of Western and Indian classical music. He is also an excellent pianist. In simple words, if I brought in the energy, he provided the depth," notes Vishal. Shekhar says Ta Ra Rum Pum is another attempt to show their range after "Sajnaji Vari Vari". That they can regularly create something that works beyond the dance floor. "Though the director (Siddharth Anand) is the same, here the music is quite different from Salaam Namastey, as, unlike Salaam Namastey which was all about youth, Ta Ra Rum Pum is a family film despite car racing as the background. Our brief was to create some classic melodies, something we used to hear in the films of Subhash Ghai and Manmohan Desai." Vishal feels the good thing is that they were told not to go by commercial focus, but rather to concentrate on stringing together the emotions that are clearly defined by the script. Talking about the songs, Shekhar says the highlight is the title track in two versions. "One is rendered by Shaan and Mahalaxmi Iyer. It has a reggae feel with interesting use of dholak. Another one is by Shreya Ghoshal, which is composed in the form of classical melodies of the '70s. Then there is 'Saiyyan' sung by Vishal himself. It is a Sufi number with a rock base." Unique texture Vishal says he went to do a scratch version to check if the lyrics were fine, but Siddharth and Aditya Chopra liked it so much that they asked him to retain the song as it was. "This is the second time it has happened to me. Last time it was 'Tujhe Chaand Chahiye' in Supari. Otherwise I am an in-house talent who is used when some unique textures of sound are required like 'Hey na Hey na' in Dus." Vishal, who has also written songs like "Allah Ke Bande" and "Right Here Right Now" reveals that when they outsource the lyrics, mostly they give the tune to the lyricist. "People like Javed Akhtar are so exceptional, they make the words match so perfectly that one can't figure out what came first." "Javed Sahib has a great ability to write a profound thought in simplest of words," feels Shekhar. "'Sajnaji Vari Vari' was an exception though, where Javed Sahib came with lyrics first," reveals Vishal. Dissecting the considerable success of the number, Vishal says in India there are two types of people: "One type who have branched out to Western music without the understanding of the rich roots of Indian folk. The others are those who are deeply rooted to the traditional but have no idea of what's happening on the world stage. We are attempting to provide the tree with the likes of Javed Sahib." Next in line is Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om where according to Shekhar the music is as crazy as Farah!

"We have also roped in Pyarelalji (of Laxmikant Pyarelal fame) to do arrangement for us in one of the songs, for it required a huge organic orchestra."

A Conversation With Pentagram

It's clear that Pentagram are India's biggest rock act. After all, they're the only band from India that's been invited to perform at the UK's prestigious Glastonbury rock festival. But it's the lesser known details that have us intrigued. For instance, Pentagram vocalist Vishal Dadlani teamed up with Shekhar Ravjiani – the trained vocalist who produced Vishal's debut album, First Love – to compose the feature track for Raj Kaushal's Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi a few years ago. Since then, the duo has composed tracks for films such as Bluffmaster, Jhankaar Beats, Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai, Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein and, most recently, Taxi No. 9211.

Not only that, but during the Kargil war, Pentagram recorded and released India's first exclusive song on the Internet, "The Price of Bullets", featuring poet Javed Akhtar and classical artist Shankar Mahadevan. The video, directed by Farhan Akhtar, one of India's most successful young film-makers, was blocked from the airwaves for being "too political". Refusing to give in, Pentagram added the song as a bonus track on Up, their second album.

Of course, nothing is too political for petaDishoom, so we caught up with Vishal when Pentagram performed at HT City's Youth Nexus in Delhi. He talked to us about his decision to go vegetarian, which he made around the time Pentagram hit the scene, and then he told us … oh, wait. We're sorry. Why don't we let you get the inside scoop in this exclusive interview?

How long have you been a vegetarian? What pushed you to make the switch?
I turned vegetarian in 1993, specifically because I like animals. I am unhappy with the idea of eating them.

What would you do if you witnessed an animal who was being ill-treated? Would you speak up?
Yes, for sure. If I knew an organisation or a number I could call to make a complaint, I would do that. Other than that, if I got out of my car or a rickshaw to beat a guy who's beating an animal, it would be like beating another "animal". It can't be a fascist thing.

You must have heard how animals are being poached – wild tigers are being killed for their skin, elephants are being killed for their tusks, etc. What are your views on that?
That's horrible. It is sick when people kill animals for their skin, especially when they know they are few. And it's even sicker when they are killed for medicinal and decorative purposes.

What would your message be to the youth about animal protection?
I would ask them to educate their friends. If they like animals, they should share their ideas and support the fact that animals should not be killed. It starts from a small community and spreads to society, state, country – right from within the neighbourhood. There should be awareness about the slaughter of animals, animal conservation, etc.

What's up next for the band?
Pentagram is writing our third album. In June and July, we will play in festivals abroad – France, Denmark, back to the UK and Estonia – and then we'll push our way into the US. We have a network established in the UK and Europe but have yet to break the barriers in the US.

For further information on Pentagram as well as info on our latest celebrity interviews, exclusive events and promotions, don't forget to sign up for petaDishoom E-News.

Musical duos have become a tradition in Bollywood and who has not heard about Kalyanji-Anandji, Anand-Milind, Mandhir-Jatin, Jatin-Lalit, (now separated) Sajid-Wajid, Bapi-Tutul and Salim Suleiman. Vishal-Shekhar represents the young music genre of this convention. Vishal Dadlani along with Shekhar have composed the music for Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi, Jhankar Beats, Dus, Musafir and Salaam Namaste. This duo takes the easy way out-one catchy hit song per film gets a producer to shop yet again at this one hit shop. Vishal Dadlani is the partner of Shekhar, the music composer of Bluffmaster. The music composer of Bluffmaster super hit song Right here Right now Vishal Dadlani spoke to The Tribune about his music. Bluffmaster has made waves and I sincerely praying and hoping that this leads to meatier assignments. I want to exhibit our range. I want a soulful quality in our songs that can only come from acoustics", says Vishal Dadlani music composer cum lyrics writer. Dadlani claims that their music is different and innovative because of a lot of stress on sound design. Vishal Dadlani also uses new signers. As musicians Vishal is satisfied with his work. He has a good stock as well as understanding of what goes into good film music. Our music styling and rhyming are different and not clicked. Coming up, adds Vishal are interesting projects like Golmaal, Yash Chopra's Tara Rum Pum, Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd., Anubhav Sinha's two projects Cash and Airport.

In short, Vishal conclude, music has become more of showmanship and marketing. Making good music today is nothing less than a challenge.

Listen to His Tunes here:
http://www.last.fm/music/Vishal+Dadlani

October 10, 2006

Movie "Shabd" - Music Review Vishal-Shekhar return to the composing seat in the thriller "Shabd". And like their other compositions, the tunes here are far above par with almost with everything you can ask for. The ever so talented composers have gained a firm hold of the industry after Musafir, and with Shabd show that not only can they compose thematically, but for both situations, they can compose what works. This soundtrack also shows that at the very least, Pritish Nandy Communications carry music that is decent on the ears. Youd be forgiven if you mistakenly took Vishal Dadlani (one half of the composer duo here) for Adnan Sami in the soundtrack opener "Sholon Si". Though one can argue that Sami would have made the song even better than it already is, Dadlani is more than suitable for the mood that the song brings out. Upbeat, laced with your catchy Latin beats and chorus intervals (vamos a la playa), the song catches the listener right away even though it starts off with the theme orchestration and leaves the impression that the song will be a regular romantic track. Sunidhi Chauhan is perfectly toned, something that Vishal-Shekhar have been known to do superb as well, and the song is hit from the word go. Lyricist Irshad Kamil, who featured in PNCs last film, Chameli, is also pleasantly in your non-typical form here without straying too far from normal or getting too verbose for that matter. The following songs reveal a bit about the film, containing vocal intervals by Sanjay Dutt (credited as free verses). What makes the songs work is how well the interludes complement not only the mood but the orchestration. Sonu Nigam is perfect and the best he has been in recent soundtracks. "Khoya Khoya Tha", like the openers, starts off slower with Sonu Nigam (who sings for Zayed Khans character), conveying Sanjay Dutts characters writings, and Sunidhi Chauhan joining in. The punch is packed when the title of the track kicks in and the jazz like feel of the song settles in. Certainly one to please those that are into romantic songs, particularly when Sonu and Sunidhi sing together. The song blends the verses and the music perfectly. The playful "Bolo Na" has the superlative Shreya Ghoshal whispering "nahin nahin" in the background throughout the track. Again Sanjay Dutt almost narrates the song (which is a stand out in the latter portion of the track when Dutts portion cues Ghoshals lines). Sonu is commanding in his rendition and Vishal-Shekhars dramatic composition stands out the most. Again, a feat it is to create a song like this, make it sound as playfully interesting (with catchy jhankaar beats and all) and worthy of more than one listen. In both "Khoya Khoya" and "Bola Na", lyricist Irshad Kamil is a refreshing change from the Bollywood regulars we get soundtrack after soundtrack. Additionally, Kamil and Dadlani team up for some of the free verses. "Chahaton Ka Silsila" is a bit more regular Bollywood song, though that not detracting on the quality of it at all, that too not withholding the fact that Kumar Sanu sounds great after being heard from so little. Ironically, the song establishes a pattern almost of starting off a bit different from the way the entire song actually is, as Sunidhi opens up the track with a slow verse completely throwing off the listener from what is to follow. The orchestration here, with this being the theme/title song of the soundtrack is complimented nicely with the flute and a good set of lyrics to follow. Sunidhi and Sanu pair up well and deliver the sweet (no other word for it) tune perfectly. A second rendition, by Udit Narayan sounds a bit more familiar to the ear. Udit is effective, after all, but his rendition brings out the familiarity in the song a bit more reminding us more of "Jaana" from Chameli and several others. The former version is better for the simple fact that Kumar Sanu is heard rarely now, and even less sounding as good as he does there. A remix (complete with rap interludes and all) of "Sholon Si" is also included on the soundtrack. With the film being a romantic thriller its almost mandatory that it must have a dramatic composition. Enter Sukhwinder Singhs "Mat Jaa", a semi-rock loud number which is dramatic, enthralling and completely situational. It too follows with a remix later on. The "Theme of Shabd" closes off the soundtrack, encompassing bits and pieces of the melody and orchestrations and adding your typical dramatic interludes with them.

Finding that perfect medium in Bollywood has often become a problem. Balancing a completely thematic soundtrack for a commercial film and attempting to make it work often produces results that are far on extremes and ultimately unpleasant. Shabds music is more worth a listeners time than recent releases, like Bewafaa, Elaan(and the list goes on?) as there is a little more balance and effort in making it work, and the attempt is noteworthy. Thankfully, this time around, its not all about the lyrics but how well both can come together. Even the two songs that feature verses are enjoyable. Shabd is a welcome soundtrack from Pritish Nandy Communications and Vishal-Shekhar, all familiarity aside, it will probably entertain you more than recent releases from the big names and all.

Vishal Dadlani at Hollywood.Com:

http://www.hollywood.com/celebrity/Vishal_Dadlani/3460789

hes a vegan! oh no!

how can anybody refuse chicken?! butter chicken to be more specific!

Name: Vishal Dadlani

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Lyrics Penned: (11)

boss??? ?? ????? ?? ???? - ##boss## kaun thaa maaluum hai kyaa ( Jhankaar Beats - 2003) ????? ???? ?? bombay?? ... ??? ?? ?? - arre pahale to ##bombay## thaa ... sahii hai re ( Jhankaar Beats - 2003) ??? ?? ????? ??? ???? ?? ??? ?? ???? ???? ?? - dil ne tumako chun liyaa hai tum bhii isako chuno naa ( Jhankaar Beats - 2003) ?? ??? ???? ?? ?? ... ??? ??? ??? ?? - jab kabhii chaa.Nd naa ho ... agar tum saath ho ( Jhankaar Beats - 2003) ????? ... ??? ??? ... ???? ????? ???? ???? - jha.nkaar ... taraa taraa ... tho.Dii mastii tho.Dii yaarii ( Jhankaar Beats - 2003) ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??? ?? ... ???? ????? ????? ????? - tuu jo hai to sab kuchh hai ... hame.n tumase pyaar kitanaa ( Jhankaar Beats - 2003) ???\-??? ????? ?? ... ???? ?? ???? ???? ?? - ruk\-ruk rukanaa naa ... chalanaa hai chalate jaanaa hai ( Jhankaar Beats - 2003) ???? ????????&#23 44;? ... ???? ?? ??? ?? - teraa muskuraanaa ... kaisaa ye nashaa hai ( Jhankaar Beats - 2003) ?? ??? ?? ??? ?? ???? ???? ????? - jo gayaa vo gayaa jo aa_egaa dekhaa jaa_egaa ( Jhankaar Beats - 2003) ?? ?? ?????? ??? ... ?? ????? ?? - tuu hai aasmaa.N me.n ... tuu aashiqii hai ( Jhankar Beats - 2003)
1. ????\-???? ?? ??????? ??? ???? ... ?????? ?? ????? - TuuTaa\-TuuTaa ek parindaa aise TuuTaa ... allaah ke bande ( Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II - 2003)

Songs Sung: (3)

boss??? ?? ????? ?? ???? - ##boss## kaun thaa maaluum hai kyaa ( Jhankaar Beats - 2003) ?? ??? ?? ??? ?? ???? ???? ????? - jo gayaa vo gayaa jo aa_egaa dekhaa jaa_egaa ( Jhankaar Beats - 2003)
1. ???\-??? ????? ?? ... ???? ?? ???? ???? ?? - ruk\-ruk rukanaa naa ... chalanaa hai chalate jaanaa hai ( Jhankaar Beats - 2003)

^^Kim he has been an active member for PETA since 1993 so stopped consuming non-veg 😭 life looks nothing without that, doesnt it?