Manan Bhardwaj’s composition for Radhe Shyam underwent 60 to 70 iterations before it was approved by the producers for the Prabhas and Pooja Hegde-starrer. Bhadwaj reiterates repeatedly that it was a stroke of luck that his song, which was set against a unique situation, found a place within this narrative.

“We needed the song to suit a star like Prabhas. It had to also match his character. There were certain lines that we had to change because his character would never say things of that order. There were also [few challenges] in interacting with the directors from the South due to the language barrier,” says the composer, who was aboard the team composing for the Hindi version of the multi-language film.

He adds that while language was a barrier, they were advantaged by the fact that the music sensibilities of the composers across industries were similar. “The composers from the South had a rich music palette. I had initially assumed that since this features Prabhas, an actor who we’ve known as the Baahubali, I would need to include [lavish] sounds. But, the South film industry focuses a lot on the melody and quality of music. In fact, they will [invest] heavily in creating the right sound. So, we had to work on making a really melodious sound.”

Bhardwaj, who has worked across different music industries, says that while the South favours melody, the Punjabi industry prioritises lyricism. “However, at the end of the day, music is segregated into two categories — good and bad. That’s all that makes a difference,” says the composer, who joins artistes like Mithoon and Amaal Malik in creating the Hindi version of the soundtrack of the film that has been directed by Radha Krishna Kumar.

Bhardwaj’s last project, the Sunny Kaushal and Radhika Madan starrer Shiddat had him take charge as composer. Ask him how holding a small place in a mammoth project of this stature is different, and he says,

“When you get to work on the full film, you get to decide its musical palette, like I did while working on Shiddat. For a solo song, you’re just catering to the situation. That’s easier, but it’s nicer [to work on the whole project]. A music supervisor comes into play [for films with many composers]. They analyse the USP of every musician, and judge how that can be brought to the fore while keeping the director’s requirements in mind.”

While Arijit Singh, and Manoj Muntashir are reportedly involved in the music-making process, artistes including Anirudh Ravichander, and Krishna Kanth, are involved in the composition in other languages. Justin Prabhakaran has managed the score composition.