Juggling a sports film, a superhero fantasy and a drama can be daunting. But The Sky Is Pink composer Pritam tells us it’s the only way he can work
Sonia Lulla (MID-DAY; October 7, 2019)

Even though it is the story — inspired by actual events — that’s the biggest draw of The Sky Is Pink, composer Pritam Chakraborty has managed to keep cinephiles further invested in the film owing to his score. In an interview with mid-day, he discusses what went behind composing for the Priyanka Chopra and Farhan Aktar-starrer, and juggling multiple films.

When you have the biggest production houses wanting you on board, what are the parameters you consider before taking up a project?
Generally, I have two ways to decide whether I want to take it up. The first is if I want to collaborate again with friends whom I have associated with in the past. The other is the script. If the script is exciting, [I] look forward to working on it.

In the case of The Sky Is Pink, I had heard very little of the story, initially. When Shonali [Bose, director] approached me, I turned her down because [my diary was] choc-a-block. But, when I heard the story of Aisha [Chaudhary], and saw the way Shonali spoke of the film, I felt for the family. Doing this was an emotional [decision].

While Gulabi Sky and Dil Hi Toh Hai have released, can you take us through the other songs in the film and the genres you’ve explored?
[Much like viewers] I also thought that the film would offer many opportunities to create emotional songs. But there aren’t many. There’s one song called Zindagi, which is my favourite. The others are feel-good [songs]. Dil Hi Toh Hai is a celebration of love. Gulabi Sky is [a play on] the film’s title. Nadaniya celebrates Aisha’s emotions. I thought there would be more emotional numbers, but Shonali wanted to cut through the heavy emotions with [a] brighter [palette]. Also, collaborating with Gulzar sa’ab [was fantastic]. Every moment is a fan moment when working with him. I’m always in awe.

You have mammoth projects like Brahmastra, ’83, Aaj Kal and Gulabo Sitabo, in the pipeline. Do you work on them simultaneously?
I don’t like to work on one project at a time because I can’t sit on one thing constantly. I have a [limited span of] attention, which helps me, in a way, because I can take up multiple projects. I can easily move in and out of the sound zones that I allot to different scripts. If I don’t juggle projects, I get bored. I usually devote no longer than two days for one song. After I finish one track, I’ll move on to another, from another film. Also, I am very moody. I won’t do something if I’m not enjoying it in that moment. The job is difficult. The projects I do are varied and I must keep each soundtrack [suited] to the script. Even if two films that I’m simultaneously working on release together, they should sound different, like it was in the case of Jagga [Jasoos] and Jab Harry Met Sejal, or Barfi and Cocktail.

Is there a soundtrack from your recent releases that has stayed with you?
Jagga Jasoos. I don’t think I’ve worked as much on any project as I did on it. Generally, projects that do well don’t remain a favourite. See, you are likely to focus your attention on a person who is talented, but still under-performs [laughs]. I wish it [Jagga Jasoos] had done better. Then, there are songs from [well-performing] films, that [go unnoticed]. There’s Ghar, from Harry Met Sejal. It’s close to my heart, but didn’t do very well. It was also not promoted.