Worth the risk

Shankar Mahadevan says the music of Rock On was like a bolt from the blue. But he's thrilled that it was a success.

Frank, forthright and friendly, Shankar Mahadevan is fun to talk to. But he's so busy that it's difficult to nab him for an interview. When I finally managed to get him, it turned out to be a stimulating discussion. So here's Mahadevan speaking candidly on a wide range of topics like Rock On and Reshammiya.

What is the reaction of the Indian audience to the music of Rock On?
The success of Rock On has been beyond our imagination. Not only is the music dominating the charts, it has also rekindled the Indian audience's interest in rock. There are middle aged people who are now planning reunions of decades-old school or college rock bands. Young musicians are calling up Ehsan and Loy to understand how particular chords and notations are played.

What has been the international reaction?
It has done very well in most international territories, but in the UK the response is a bit lagging. There the audience still wants more of a traditional Indian touch like a marriage party song. So there they seem to like our music in Salam-e- Ishq or Jhoom Barabar Jhoom.

Musically how did you approach this project?
When Farhan Akhtar and Abhishek Kapoor gave us the brief of the film, we were confident of giving it our best shot. I may not be a big authority on rock but Ehsan and Loy are heavily into it. So this kind of music was right up their alley.

Our aim was to make the Indian audience aware of this genre and for that it was very important to maintain the purity of the genre. We decided it would be pure rock as is presented in the West but only the lyrics would be in Hindi. We did not want to use clichéd techniques like anglicising the lyrics or accents to make it sound modern or like needlessly placing a dhol rhythm to make it appeal to the rural audiences.

How different is your take on rock from Junoon's Sufi-Rock or Rabbi Shergill's so-called Punjabi Rock?
I think the main difference is about the feel of the music. Their rock is more of an Indianised (Asianised) version with the use of the dholak or other similar Indian instruments. We have just used a keyboard, guitar, bass and drums in our arrangements. So Rock On is just like western rock, only the language is Hindi. We tried showing all facets of rock and even composed a heavy metal number Zahreelay.

Why did you use Farhan Akhtar as a lead singer? In fact, in general, why are contemporary Hindi composers using so many unconventional voices?
It is more like choosing a particular actor for a particular role. Sometimes when a crazy new musical idea strikes, to maintain the freshness of that idea you need such an unconventional singer. There, if you use the established conventional voices, then they might do a better job of singing but perhaps the novelty of that theme would get diluted.

How do you see the Indian audience of today?
Many times they accept mediocre music but at the same time they are more willing to accept new experiments. I feel as an audience, Indians are like singers – they like tunes which they can hum and sing. In contrast western audiences are like listeners, who are more keen about finding details like the use of particular instruments in the song arrangement.

As a composer, how do you manage to keep track of international genres, which are now becoming a standard part of Bollywood music?
Obviously it is not possible to master all the genres, but we keep our eyes and ears open to analyse what sort of music is appealing to today's listeners and later on try to incorporate that flavour into a particular tune. But this kind of experimentation is valid only if a particular script or a film song situation demands that kind of music.

What do you think of Himesh Reshammiya?
You may or may not like his music, singing or acting, but you have to acknowledge that Himesh has successfully carved out a niche for himself. It is like he has managed to get his own first class compartment in a crowded train! It is a great achievement in these times when every entertainer has to fight to get the audience's attention. He is a nice man and he is enjoying what he is doing.

By the way, I must confess that I could not connect to Rock On's music and wrote so in a review, inviting the wrath of many irate fans.

(Laughs) Serves you well. But you were not the only reviewer who did not like that effort. After all, Rock On was like a bolt from the blue. It had a definite shock value. It was like serving Vietnamese cuisine in a household eating traditional Indian food all their lives! We knew we were taking a risk when we undertook that project but when such a risky project clicks, it clicks big time! We are happy that it did click big time!

Mahadevan will be performing in a private show in Dubai today and tomorrow along with his partners in crime Ehsan Noorani and Loy Mendonca.