DNA (April 5, 2018)

Shoojit Sircar, who is easily one of the most-acclaimed filmmakers in Bollywood — courtesy his repertoire, which boasts of films like Vicky Donor, Madras Cafe, Piku, Pink and now, October —  has always concentrated on giving his music an extra edge.

In his upcoming film, he introduces newcomer Banita Sandhu with Gen-Y’s big draw Varun Dhawan. It’s a unique love story and the songs are meant to have a magical quality. For the soundtrack, the director has brought on board varied talent in the form of composers Shantanu Moitra, Abhishek Arora and Anupam Roy.

This is also the first time a movie has done a pre-release launch of the background score. October Theme, which made its debut in the sneak-peek video, gave viewers a glimpse into the world of the lead actors.

As we were submerged in its beautiful melody, the makers gave us more songs to celebrate this story of love. While the track Theher Ja became an instant craze, the promotional number Tab Bhi Tu, sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, has been on loop for music lovers. Manwaa, rendered by Sunidhi Chauhan and Monali Thakur’s Chal have found their own fan following.  

Shoojit shares, “For me, the background score has always been an integral part of my films. Shantanu is a dear and old friend of mine. In fact, he came to me before the shoot of October, and told me he was creating a special theme based on the narrative I gave him. I heard it and was mesmerised. I made the actors and everyone else hear it before the shoot began. All my movies — be it Madras Cafe, Piku or Pink — have had a unique background score to them. Working with Shantanu again was great. We created the other songs by collaborating with Anupam and Abhishek, who too are my old friends. It was an enjoyable process.”

Shantanu says, “October’s music is like the first shiuli phool that blooms on a barren tree…fresh, real and you can smell it from afar. Each song is a reflection of the story and a great blend of good tunes, lyrics and singing.”

Anupam, on his part, shares, “Tab Bhi Tu is a love song with spiritual undertones. Rahat’s magical voice makes it piercing. I wanted the melody to penetrate our souls.” Abhishek states, “The album comprises soulful and original tracks. Remixes are great but we need to push original music as much as possible. It has a fresh production style that uses diverse sounds, textures and grooves.”

Produced by Ronnie Lahiri and Sheel Kumar, October stars Varun Dhawan and Banita Sandhu. A Rising Sun Films Production, the film, directed by Shoojit Sircar, releases on April 13, 2018.