Mature for his years

Music composer Mithoon's boyish looks belie his talent for stringing the right notes.

When you hear tracks such as Tere Bin from Bas Ek Pal; Maula Mere and Tose Naina from Anwar; and Mausam and Beetein Lamhe from The Train, you would associate them with a music composer of some seniority; a person who has seen and experienced life.

Mithoon is just 22 years old and he is the brains behind those tunes.

The talented music composer was in Dubai to promote his latest chartbuster The Train.

Excerpts from an interview ...

e+: Why did you get into the Bollywood music scene?
Mithoon: Music runs in our family and I am the third generation of music composers. My grandfather, Pandit Ram Prasad, taught music and my father Naresh Sharma has composed background music for innumerable Bollywood films. I grew up in such a musical atmosphere that when I turned 17 I decided to be a music composer. I feel to become a music director, it is necessary to have a calling within you. Thank God I followed my instinct and got to do Bas Ek Pal's music at the age of 21.

Did you expect your first musical score Bas Ek Pal to be such a rage especially the Tere Bin track?
Initially, I got a call from Onir requesting me to do only the title track of Bas Ek Pal, but later I got to do the entire soundtrack. Actually I had composed the Tere Bin track with Atif Aslam for a private album with Tips, but when Onir heard it, he wanted this song in his film at any cost and got the rights from Tips. I was lucky that my very first album received such immense reaction from the public, who emotionally bonded with the songs.

How did you come up with the terrific tracks of Anwar, especially the classic Tose Naina Lage, which unfortunately is less popular than the Maula Maula track?
I am glad that you praised my special track Tose Naina Lage, which has got sidelined because of Maula Maula's commercial success. I feel that as a composer my music should complement the film's script. The director, Manish Jha, wanted me to project the pure love and immortality of a lover through these tracks and I just allowed myself to flow with these thoughts to create such music for this genre.

The hit dance number Woh Ajnabee from The Train soundtrack seems to have made you more commercially viable within mainstream cinema. Comment.
I chose to do this film because of its storyline. The film deals with a troubled marriage and the filmmakers wanted my music to communicate this feeling. I also had to live up to Emraan Hashmi's profile of having musical hits. The track Woh Ajnabee has an instant hook and its rhythmic clap beat catches the listener's attention.

What's next on the cards?
I am doing Shyam Bajaj's Agar starring Tusshar Kapoor. There are also other interesting projects in the pipeline.

What do you think of the UAE?
It's exciting coming to Dubai and visiting the shopping malls here. My stay in the UAE was extra special as I got to meet my uncle Godfrey and aunt Nancy who live in Umm Al Quwain, which I must admit is a very peaceful and relaxing place.