Shantanu Moitra on remixes
Courtesy: IndiaFM
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Shantanu Moitra started off his musical career with the popular Bole Mere Lips I Love Uncle Chips jingle. He then graduated to composing music for films like Leela, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Yahaan and Parineeta. Now he is ready with his first commercial project Munnabhai Lage Raho. So without further ado, over to Shantanu!
How
did
you
start
of
your
musical
career?
I
was
working
in
advertising
and
have
done
a
lot
of
jingles.
Music
was
actually
a
hobby
and
I
discovered
that
there
is
something
like
jingles.
One
can
make
money
in
that.
My
first
jingle
was
Bole
Mere
Lips
I
Love
Uncle
Chips.
It
became
very
popular
which
increased
my
confidence.
Gradually,
music
became
my
career.
Did you have any specialized training in music?
It's genetic, I guess. My father is from a family of musicians. I've been hearing classical music since I was very young. I have been hearing different kinds of music like folk and world music, since I was a child. I guess that is my forte when it comes to composing music. It's difficult for me to answer what kind of music I like, because I listen to so many kinds.
Do
you
still
continue
to
work
in
the
ad
industry?
Of
course!
I
just
did
an
ad
for
Happy
Dent.
I
love
advertising.
So
how
did
films
happen?
I
guess
some
opportunities
came
to
me.
I
did
the
album
'Ab
Ke
Sawan'
with
Shubha
Mudgal.
That
was
heard
by
Sudhir
Mishra
and
he
offered
me
Hazaaron
Khwaishein
Aisi.
Pradeep
Sarkar
who
made
Parineeta
is
a
friend
from
advertising.
I
guess
one
thing
led
to
another.
And
Parineeta
happened.
I
have
known
Pradeep
since
about
15
years.
I
have
worked
on
practically
every
commercial
that
he
has
made.
He
has
even
directed
my
song,
Ab
Ke
Sawan.
We've
had
a
long
history.
It
was
very
obvious
that
when
he
would
do
his
first
film,
he
would
offer
it
to
me,
subject
to
Vidhu
Vinod
Chopra
liking
my
work.
Soojit
Sircar
who
made
Yahaan
is
also
a
friend.
So
he
offered
me
the
project.
Even
before
Parineeta
was
made,
I
had
created
a
song
called
Raath
Hamari
To,
sung
by
Chitra.
Vidhu
Vinod
Chopra
loved
that
song.
That
became
my
passport
to
bagging
Parineeta.
Parineeta
had
a
Bengali
touch
whereas
Yahaan
had
a
Kashmiri
touch.
Is
folk
music
your
forte?
I
love
folk
music.
It's
my
hobby
to
hear
folk
music.
I
can
adapt
very
well
to
different
styles.
Even
Yahaan
has
nothing
to
do
with
folk.
But
I
know
the
nuances
that
are
there.
I
think
it
is
very
interesting
when
a
film
has
a
backdrop
of
a
particular
region.
Your
talent
and
creativity
gets
really
tested.
I
enjoy
the
challenge.
Munnabhai
Lage
Raho
is
different
from
what
you
have
done
earlier.
Yes,
it
is
completely
different.
I
was
fortunate
enough
to
get
this
project.
The
range
from
Parineeta
to
Munnabhai
is
mind
blowing.
This
is
what
we
do
in
jingles,
actually.
One
day
you're
doing
washing
powder
whereas
the
next
you
are
doing
shoe
polish.
Everyday,
there
is
a
different
product.
There
are
two
aspects
to
composing.
The
first
is
of
course
you
have
to
be
a
good
composer.
Secondly,
you
have
to
understand
the
medium
of
cinema.
In
a
film
like
Munnabhai
Lage
Raho,
that
is
really
tested.
The
music
is
scene
and
character
specific.
There
is
a
prequel
wherein
the
character
of
the
film
is
coming
from.
One
has
to
keep
in
mind
the
soundtrack
of
the
prequel
as
well.
And
then
create
something
new.
This
is
the
first
time
you
have
a
hardcore
'masala'
film.
Was
it
difficult?
I
was
fortunate
enough
to
have
a
good
team.
Even
during
Parineeta,
I
was
told
to
create
whatever
I
felt
was
right
and
not
worry
about
what
was
'in.'
I
was
true
to
the
film
and
era.
Similarly,
in
case
of
Lage
Raho
Munnabhai
I
was
true
to
the
film
and
characters.
If
there
is
any
strength
in
my
composition
and
packaging,
then
people
will
like
it.
There
used
to
be
a
time
when
a
good
song
was
a
good
song
and
a
bad
song
was
a
bad
song.
I
still
believe
that
is
true.
Who
is
your
favorite
music
director?
I
am
besotted
by
Salil
Chaudhary.
He
has
amazing
talent.
Then
of
course,
there
is
R.D.Burman.
Internationally,
I
love
John
Williams.
I
love
his
scores
right
from
E.T.
to
Schindler's
List.
I
like
to
hear
songs
in
foreign
languages.
They
become
my
passport
to
traveling
to
different
lands.
It
gives
me
a
flavor
of
the
place,
culture
and
the
people.
That
really
excites
me.
So
I
have
a
huge
collection
of
world
music.
What
about
from
the
current
lot
of
composers?
I
love
Vishal
Bharadwaj.
He
did
a
brilliant
job
in
Omkara.
I
like
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.
Of
course
there
is
A.R.Rahman
as
well.
I
loved
Sandesh
Shandilya's
work
in
Chameli.
Then
there
are
Vishal-Shekhar
who
bring
a
certain
amount
of
freshness
in
their
work.
There
is
a
lot
of
new
blood
and
some
great
stuff
is
happening
around.
These
are
exciting
times.
Who
are
your
favorite
singers?
I
have
worked
with
very
few
people.
Sonu
Nigam
has
an
outstanding
knowledge
of
not
only
the
song,
but
the
situation
as
well.
He
is
a
director's
delight.
I
love
Shreya
Ghoshal's
voice.
I
think
Sunidhi
Chauhan
is
so
versatile.
Are
there
any
rare
musical
instruments
used
in
Lage
Raho
Munnabhai?
I
don't
know
about
rare.
But
in
the
film
I
have
used
whistling
as
a
very
important
metaphor
for
friendship.
Whistling
comes
from
the
heart!
It
portrays
the
friendship
between
Munna
and
Circuit.
I
have
incorporated
that
in
a
song
as
well,
which
I
think
is
very
interesting.
Munnabhai
MBBS
had
music
by
Anu
Malik.
Did
you
bag
the
film
because
you
did
Parineeta?
You
have
to
ask
the
producers!
I
am
not
complaining!
Which
is
your
favorite
song
in
the
film?
It's
a
song
called
Pal
Pal.
It's
a
beautiful
ballad.
It
has
a
certain
amount
of
shyness
which
we
don't
get
to
hear
these
days.
This
song
stems
from
a
different
sensibility,
wherein
you
keep
your
feelings
in
your
mind.
How
was
your
experience
of
recording
the
song?
This
song
was
recorded
4
times!
Sometime
I
or
sometimes
the
singer
wanted
something
changed.
As
it
developed,
it
became
better
and
better.
It's
a
refreshing
song.
Tell
us
something
about
the
other
songs.
Well,
the
title
track
Lage
Raho
Munnabhai
features
Munna
and
Circuit.
It
is
shot
in
the
middle
of
Mumbai.
I
think
the
song
is
the
epitome
of
Lage
Raho
Munnabhai.
It
had
to
be
a
fun
loving
song.
That's
where
I
have
used
the
whistling.
It's
a
typical
male
bonding
kind
of
song.
There is a song called Samjho. It stems from a situation. Munna and Circuit are drunk and are imagining bizarre situations. It's a completely lyrics based song. Arshad has sung in this! It has rib tickling lyrics. There is a song sung by Karunya titled Aane Charane. I love the lyrics. He has sung it so well. Hats off to him since it is his first film song. The nation was mourning when he didn't win Indian Idol. Now there is something for his fans to look forward to. One of my favorites in the Bapu song. It's a beckoning to call Gandhi. I believe he still exists today by way of his ideologies. He is just being called to kind of take stock of the situation. It's soulfully rendered by Sonu Nigam.
Apparently
Arshad
Warsi
was
very
nervous
when
he
had
to
record
the
song.
Tell
us
about
that
experience.
We
didn't
tell
him
that
he
was
going
to
sing!
He
thought
that
he
was
coming
for
dialogues.
When
I
told
him
that
he
had
to
sing
it
in
tune,
he
said
he
couldn't
do
it!
He
got
really
afraid
and
started
saying
that
his
career
would
be
over.
He
ended
up
doing
a
marvelous
job.
We
recorded
the
first
take
itself.
The
subsequent
takes
were
not
up
to
the
mark.
Arshad
could
not
believe
that
he
had
recorded
a
song.
He
calls
me
a
brave
music
director!
What
is
your
take
on
remixes?
I
think
they
are
an
essential
marketing
tool
these
days.
I
have
a
problem
with
the
way
they
are
picturized.
I
don't
have
issues
if
my
songs
are
remixed,
as
long
as
I
know
about
it.
I
have
a
problem
when
songs
of
music
directors
who
are
no
longer
living
are
remixed.
No
credit
is
given
to
them.
My
fear
is
that
the
new
generation
won't
even
know
who
the
original
composer
is.
What
according
to
you
is
the
main
reason
for
piracy?
Overpriced
products!
So
people
want
an
alternate
way
of
listening
to
music.
Piracy
is
bad.
There
is
no
reason
for
people
to
indulge
in
it.
It
is
not
ethical.
It's
as
true
or
as
away
from
your
heart
as
pollution,
cruelty
towards
animals
and
wife
beating.
There
was
a
time
when
LPs
were
replaced
by
CDs.
I
think
when
LPs
died,
some
of
the
greatest
artworks
in
the
world
died.
It
was
such
a
beautiful
illustration
of
art.
When
you
saw
a
Pink
Floyd
LP,
the
stuff
that
was
on
it
because
of
the
space
was
phenomenal.
You
don't
get
that
kind
of
artwork
anymore,
because
the
space
has
become
so
small.
I
think
it
was
the
death
of
an
artwork.
Technologically
if
man
can
go
to
the
moon,
I'm
sure
he
can
even
find
a
way
to
stop
piracy.
What
are
your
future
projects?
I
worked
very
hard
on
Parineeta,
Munnabhai
Lage
Raho
and
Eklavya.
I'm
looking
at
new
scripts
right
now.
I
am
also
doing
jingles.
I'm
traveling
which
is
something
I
love!
I'm
doing
astrology,
looking
at
stars,
cooking,
whatever!
I
can't
be
in
a
recording
studio
day
in
and
day
out.
I
need
to
recharge
myself.
That's
all
I'm
doing.
Tell
us
something
about
the
music
score
of
Eklavya.
It
is
a
cinematic
score.
A
cinematic
score
adds
to
the
film.
In
Schindler's
List,
the
score
added
to
the
characters.
That's
the
kind
of
film
Eklavya
is.
I
am
very
proud
of
the
score
that
I
have
done.
I
think
I
have
rediscovered
myself
as
a
composer.