When the first spell of rains hit the city in November 2015, Bollywood music composers Sachin Sanghvi and Jigar Saraiya were here. It was supposed to be their first performance in the city — but that never happened. “We will come back,” Jigar had said then — reclining on the bed, hugging a pillow, in his hotel room at Phoenix MarketCity. Suddenly gifted with a whole free day, the two composers spoke about their journey, their respect for A.R. Rahman and the songs ‘Dance Basanti’, ‘Shake your Bootiya’ and ‘Bezubaan’ (that ruled the roost at almost every Bollywood club night last year). When the skies cleared a little, they went back to Mumbai.
Two months later, the duo is back to perform at the same venue. Excerpts from an interview:
This is your first performance in the city — but besides that, how often do you visit Chennai?
Sachin: We come almost twice a year. For all the music we make, we come to Chennai for using the talent — be it the string, rhythmic section or arrangers. We also know singers Devan (Ekambaram) and Naresh (Iyer) pretty well. We might be Gujaratis, but at heart, we are South Indians — we get up with an idli and sleep with a dosa . ( laughs )
Jigar: I graduated from a South Indian college in Mumbai — it was called South Indian Education Society. So, throughout my college days, I only heard Rahman sir’s Tamil albums; I can even sing in Tamil. That’s how much I love Rahman sir’s works from the early 90s. In fact, it was his works that inspired me to pursue music as a career.
You worked with Rahman on a few projects ( Ekk Deewana Tha – the Hindi album of Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa , besides a couple of jingles). How was the experience?
Sachin: It was a dream come true. We always worked on Skype with him; just got to meet him once.
Jigar: I used to shiver, speaking with him. He said one word instead of four, and still made the same impact. There was a time when I would have breakfast only after looking at his picture. His music was life-changing for so many youngsters like me — we had never been exposed to the kind of soundscapes and arrangement that he brought to the fore.
Did he help mould your style?
Sachin: There was this time when we created music using many chords. When he heard it, he said, ‘This is good, but can you keep it simple?’ Cut to an interview of John Mayer, who I follow — he says that he has used it all, but nothing beats simplicity. We are glad that we are getting these tips early on in our career.
2014 and 2015 saw some great hits ( Badlapur and ABCD 2 in 2015; songs ‘Shake your Bootiya’ ( Finding Fanny ) and ‘Dance Basanti’ ( Ungli ) in 2014) — would you call the period your personal best?
Sachin: Not really. Each year gives us a benchmark to cross. Previously, we came up with ‘Party Abhi Baaki Hai’ ( F.A.L.T.U ), and ‘Saibo’ ( Shor in the City ), and we lived by it. 2015 was just another year.
So, what’s the story behind ‘Shake your bootiya’ and ‘Dance Basanti’?
Jigar: We are theatre people, and are usually inspired by the script. However, the two songs had nothing to do with the script. Director Karan Johar came to us one day and asked if we could do one song for him. ‘I want the words Dance Basanti in it,’ he said. And we had the song by that evening. Cut to ‘Shake your bootiya’. The director, Homi Adajania, had the video in mind. And that’s how the song happened.
Sachin: Then there are directors like Sriram Raghavan ( Badlapur ); his brief was — ‘My film doesn’t need any songs, so let your songs be so good that you convince me to take them’. ‘Jeena Jeena’ was one of the most difficult songs we have done. Then, there are others like Remo — for F.A.L.T.U , he gave us two weeks to come up with around 10 songs. But he didn’t like anything. Then we played him ‘Party Abhi Baaki Hai’, which many producers had rejected before, and it worked! {It also went on to become a hit song. They are also doing the album for Remo’s next superhero movie}.
How does the process of making music go?
Sachin: We have a space we call the hub. Our lives revolve around it. Whoever has an idea will be there, working alone. Only during a meeting or presentation do we discuss what we have done so far. Also, we use one computer. After one finishes, the other takes over.
Jigar: Initially, since we both come from different schools of music (Sachin listened to Kishori Amonkar, and Jigar — the popular boy bands), we had differences of opinion. ‘Is this how it is going to be for every song?’ — we thought. Later, we realised that our bond has gone beyond music. We might not speak with each other for a day or two, but then, one of us will always give in. (smiles at Sachin) .
Catch their performance at Phoenix MarketCity on January 10. Entry is free.
