Vishal and Shekhar - Creating a duet!

Music directors Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani are known for their distinct brand of music in Bollywood. From 'Sheila ki jawaani' to 'Chammak challo' and 'Radha teri chunri', their scores set listeners grooving more often than not. Here's catching the musical duo in a freewheeling interview. Excerpts...

Bonding over music
Shekhar: We were friends who bonded over music. We would hear each other's work often. When the opportunity to compose music for Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi came, we decided to combine our music for the title track.

Vishal: Thankfully, our work was greatly appreciated and we decided to come together as a team. Then came Jhankar Beats. We put our heart and soul into the project and the result was mind-blowing. We really believe that God decides the coming together of like-minded artistes.

A learning experience
Shekhar: It's very important to learn from failure. It should act as an impetus to work harder. Once, I was eliminated from Sa Re Ga Ma but I was happy that I lost to a student of Pandit Hridyanath Mangeskar. He had trained for six-seven years in classical music and I, just for a year. It made me pull up my socks and train harder.

Vishal: One should have the qualities of humility and sportsmanship to participate in any competition. It's important to lose and learn from mistakes. When you are young and take part in such competitions, your confidence gets a boost. You become a more complete artist. Also, I have learnt that music has the quality of imparting infinite knowledge.
Drawing inspiration
Shekhar: When a film is offered to us, we first like to understand the concept. A director's vision about the kind of music he wants for a film also plays an important part.

Vishal: It's our constant endeavour to remain as versatile as we can. Like, in 2012 we did Kahaani as well as Student Of The Year. No one can say that they sounded similar. Amongst our contemporaries, Sneha Khanvilkar and Amit Trivedi are two composers whom we really admire and get inspired by.

A 'royal' debate
Shekhar: Everywhere in the world, creative artistes get royalties. I am glad that this issue is receiving its due attention in India, too. Many producers are also coming out in its support.

Vishal: Finally, musicians will get their due. It will be a huge achievement for the composers who fought for this cause. When it comes through, it will be a proud moment for us.

By arrangement with Mid-Day.com