The background and music composers of Ghoul and Stree discuss the challenge of composing for creepy scripts
Sonia Lulla (MID-DAY; August 27,2018)

It's almost discomforting to visualise the picture that Ghoul background score composers Naren Chandavarkar (left) and Benedict Taylor (down; right) paint, when describing the lassitude of the environment that inspired their work. Having worked on Netflix's latest Indian offering - the horror that stars Radhika Apte at its front - Chandavarkar says the brief given to them from the onset was to focus on building an environment, instead of resorting to jump scares to keep the tension up.

"A large part of the series is set in an underground bunker with no daylight and no sense of time. We were keen to create that claustrophobia and disquiet, with the score ticking away like some sort of a morbid heartbeat. There had to be the sense of impending doom and alarm."

As Taylor asserts that the "zone, pace, rhythm and mood" are kept at the fore when composing for a horror, it is evident by the duo's choice of words that a marked element of tenebrosity is up on offer. "Using scratchy synthetic sirens and martial drums, we created motivic elements. A siren like motif was created when we ran a synthesiser into a bizarrely fast tremolo, which resulted in a mosquito like, scratchy distorted buzz. We played with that pitch to create a rising, ominous and queasy sound. There's also [an element of] mythology [in the show], explaining the world of Ghoul, and the ancient Aramaic chants to summon it. We played with strange vocal techniques to arrive at a sound that worked for it," reveals Chandavarkar, adding that even Taylor's vocals were modulated for use in the score.

Interestingly, while a dystopian set-up is made evident owing to the methodology that the duo employed, another set of music composers, Sachin Sanghvi and Jigar Saraiya (below) reveal that composing songs for a horror venture is starkly different from creating its score. The minds behind the soundtrack of Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor-starrer Stree, the composers point to the commercial angle of filmmaking that comes into play, which can even overpower the demands of the genre they are tackling.

"Music is the first part of the film that viewers are exposed to, and hence must be the defining factor that draws them to theatres," says Sanghvi. He adds that since they knew they needed to create tracks that could be played at discotheques and parties, they decided to tackle the theme of horror via the lyrics, not the music. "Having said that, we had to be certain that the songs could carry distinct contexts when seen in the film, and as solo numbers.

For instance, the lyrics of the song Milegi Milegi, which read: "Tujhe bhi milegi, mujhe bhi milegi", refer to the [paranormal] character in the film, but can easily allude to a lover a man seeks, when heard outside the theatre," Sanghvi adds. Having jetted off to Dubai to give their undivided attention to the creation of this soundtrack, the duo asserts that the commercial approach was essential since they had to draw viewers to watch the film featuring "young stars". "This is not a Shah Rukh Khan film where the music can be the secondary aspect. The songs had to serve as promotional material," Saraiya admits.