Inteview of Vishal-Shekhar on Bachna ae haseeno

Bachna ae haseeno (2008) wallpapers :
















Interview of celebrity music directors Vishal & Shekhar about Bachna ae haseeno (2008) :
Sitting at the feet of the song and saying thank you. That’s what Vishal-Shekhar has done with RD’s original bachna ae haseeno track, saysVishal. Here is the exclusive interview of celebrity music director Vishal-Shekhar.

Was it a prerequisite that you had to use the original Bachna ae haseeno song in the soundtrack to have Ranbir do a Rishi?

No. The thing is they named the film after the song. When they came to us, we were like, man do we have to do a title track? We said that if we have to do a title track, we have to use the original. Because boss, no matter in what composition I say Bachna ae haseeno, it cannot be better than that.

Were you a fan of the Bachna song before the film came along?

Come on man, not just us, it’s Adi’s (producer Aditya Chopra) favourite track, it is (director) Siddharth’s (Anand) favourite track, it is Ranbir’s favourite track of his dad...

What is it about the song? Is it because of that incredible prelude?

The prelude was something that kind of drives it. Every time you hear it — da da da da da — you are like, man it’s coming. So we did not have to use it, we chose to use it.

And you have used part of the prelude as the opening bars...

We didn’t even want to compose a fresh mukhda. Panchamda’s mukhda is so terrific, so we used the horn section as the mukhda. So our song actually starts from Tujhse log kahenge, Na kar pyaar mujhe, Main to laakh bura hoon, Neend chura loon, Hosh uda doon. This was the horn section in Panchamda’s composition and then Kishoreda’s original song starts. We did a quick two-line antara in Panchamda’s style, which we have been studying for a long time. He has taught us so much as musicians, we owe him a lot. So it’s basically what we did in Jhankaar Beats — pay tribute to him, to Kishoreda, to Majroohsaab. You can pretty much call it an act of worshipping.

You have remixed the track, added your own little rap and kept the original Kishore Kumar voice. Is there a case of playing safe?

The point of the matter is somebody was supposed to sing it. We were working on the scratch with Kishoreda’s voice. And we all agreed no matter who sings it, he is not going to sound like him. We have said it a million times before and this time we put our money where our mouth is. There is nobody like him and I hope that someday there is somebody like him but this generation has been deprived of working with Kishore Kumar. At least here we got to work with him. In a sense... And having our name in that track with all of them, it means so much to me. It’s a big thing for me. It’s the ultimate high. This is the biggest song I have ever sung.

Why did you have Sumit Kumar sing the new lines and not Amit Kumar, with whom you worked in Jhankaar Beats?

We got Sumit’s number from Amitji. Amit Kumar was the original choice. We called him up and told him about the song and that it’s for Ranbir. The age difference is very vast. We needed a younger voice. Sumit has not been exposed at all. He had come to us two-three years ago and we had promised him that we would do something big with him. The potential is there. I was so happy to discover that he is good. He has to work on Daddy’s acting ability. If he gets that, he is going to be a star. He actually has Kishoreda’s voice quality. Only he doesn’t know it yet.

Any reason for keeping the track at the end of the CD?

Because it’s the finale. It’s the biggest slot in any album. In the film, there is a separate video shot for it. It’s the lead track of the film. Ranbir, Bipasha, Deepika, Minissha, everyone is there. This is the song which is going to drive the film. People are going to remember the film for the song and remember the song again for the film. The whole purpose was to sit at the feet of the song and say ‘thank you’.

Was there ever a fear of a backlash because there are so many diehard Pancham fans out there?

I think Pancham fans know by now, especially after Jhankaar Beats, that we are as big RD Burman fans as anybody. Whether it’s our music in Nau Do Gyarah or recently in De Taali... we are from that school, man. Our aspiration is to touch one-thousandth of what he achieved. Let there be no doubt about that. We will never be in the same league. He was a genius beyond compare.

The other highlight of the soundtrack is Lucky Ali and Shreya Ghoshal’s Aahista aahista. Rahman has been trying to get hold of Lucky for months. How did you get him to sing for you?

Lucky is a great singer. It’s the simplicity and the truth of his voice that connects. He manages to sing like a normal person. It’s very straight, very heartfelt. And he is a vibe guy. When we met, things kind of agreed. He wasn’t feeling well and he just hung around the studio the whole day. Not once did Shekhar or I tell him, let’s try the song. We spoke, we chatted about a million things, his earlier albums, about his band that he has set up. We just had a good time. Two days later he came back. He said let’s give it a go. Before that we hung out for two-three hours, ate lunch, this, that... Shekhar and I work like that anyway. Music cannot be made under stress. He got into that space. He realised that we were not going to pressurise him. We thought when he loves the song enough, learns the song enough, he will do it.

After a lot of dhinchak baazi, you have tried to keep it simple overall in Bachna Ae Haseeno. Is that conscious?

We always feel, the emotional content of a song is above and beyond the composition, beats and key. What is the purpose of music? It is the emotional connection and I am sure it must have evolved before language. When you can see that, there’s something good. And that’s what we learnt from Panchamda. Songs like Arey hoga tumse pyaara kaun and Main shayyar to nahin. See, the singers’ pitching is not perfect in both songs but the genius of Panchamda is such that he kept them like that because the emotion in that rendition by Shailendra Singh is irreplaceable.

So we are trying to bring that human touch back to music. It has become very mechanical. It’s made on machines; people are hearing them as machines. The attempt is to keep the live flavour, certain rawness to the songs. A kind of organic vibe... We are trying to capture that in this digital age. God is perfect and then there is this little bit of imperfection, which is emotionally true. Kishoreda had that. We are trying to learn from the masters.

The failure of Tashan the film must have disappointed you. Are you hopeful about Bachna Ae Haseeno?

The good thing is that we have seen the film. To be honest, it’s going to be a smash, out of the park. Ranbir has played it natural. He is a really gifted actor. He is great looking and women are going crazy about him but he is not projecting himself as a hero at all. No sticking on a bike with flying hair. He is like someone I know. And the girls are so good in the film. I love it. Success and failure come and go. The best thing you can do is do good work.

Do you like the new Bachna ae haseeno song or the old one? Tell us.

People who read this post also read :