Delhi’s Parikrama band has been known to be popular without resorting to gimmicks. Perhaps that is why, the band’s songs are high on the popularity list of youngsters across the country. This time, the band is trying something new with the musical scores of a Hindi film, Manjunath , based on the life of the honest officer Shanmugham Manjunath who was killed in Lakhimpur Kheri in Bihar in 2005. It is Parikrama’s debut attempt at crafting music for films. Excerpts from a chat with the trio Subir Malik, Nitin Malik and Sonam Sherpa of the band in New Delhi:
Parikrama has been around on the music circuit for a long time. now. What took you so long to sign a Hindi film?
We have been in this profession for about 22 years and we were satisfied with our work. We have been refusing offers from Bollywood because we can’t do songs like ‘Munni’ and ‘Sheila’. This time, when the director of Manjunath, approached us, we initially refused, as usual. He left the script with us. After going through it, we found it very interesting. The message of the film was so strong that we had no other option but to say yes. Further more, we were promised full creative freedom.
You are doingManjunath, the plot of which is based in U.P. Did you not you think you would be were in danger of being asked to do a ‘UP-Bihar’ kind of a song?
This is our first film. The reason for not joining the film industry was that we are not comfortable doing such songs. We always have the option of saying no to such offers. Now we are open to films but only if the script appeals to us.
Tell us about the music ofManjunath.
There are three songs in the film which are sung by Shankar Mahadevan, K.K. and Papon. The music of the film is completely Rock and Roll, different from the music of Bollywood films. The music of this film is definitely going to connect with the audience. Rock music is getting more acceptance compared to the ’90s. Making music is not difficult for us as we are in this field for many years. For instance, it took us only five minutes to do the theme song.
So many youngsters are taking to popular music these days and many are trying their luck in music through and reality shows. How do you look at this change?
Yes, musical shows offer a good platform to youngsters. There is future for some of them but what I (Sonam Sherpa) say is, one must have a plan B. If by the age of 27-28, you do not get success through reality shows,you should switch to plan B.
Some of the popularity of modern-day songs stems from their vulgar lyrics. What do you think say about the falling standards of lyrics in our creative world?
I (Sonam Sherpa) can’t comment on this issue but I personally don’t listen to such songs. I like to hear songs by Rafi sahib, A.R. Rahman and Shankar Ehsan Loy.
