'I love the space of independent music right now', says composer Amit Trivedi

Debarati S Sen (BOMBAY TIMES; October 14, 2023)

In 2009, Amit Trivedi’s soundtrack of Dev D changed the way Hindi film music sounded. Over the years, his willingness to experiment with diverse musical landscapes, blending of traditional elements with contemporary sounds, resonated with music lovers and his songs like Iktara (Wake Up Sid), London Thumakda and Kinare (Queen) to the electrifying beats of tracks from Udta Punjab gave Indian cinema a refreshing musical identity.

In a candid conversation with the musician at his Andheri studio, we discussed his love for freedom as a music composer, how he works multiple mediums whether it's films, OTT or the independent space, and more. Excerpts from our interview…

Mostly, all your film work has been complete albums. But there are many that have three to four composers working on one single film. Did you consciously take a stand against such albums?
Yes, I have said a no to such work. I won’t do film albums that have more than one composer. I feel bad for composers who do that because the public will not know ki kiska gaana kya hai and so your identity will be lost. In the long run, no one will remember. But if it is an individual composer then people would know and recall far more easily. For example, if it's Pathaan, we all know it is Vishal-Shekhar.

Did you ever have to give up your creative freedom for others? For the director or producer of the film?
That keeps happening. I won’t take names but when my fans feel ‘this song isn’t an Amit Trivedi one’, those are the times when I have faced this interference! In those songs mujhe creative freedom nahi diya gaya tha. Curb kartein rahein. Yeh mat karo, woah karo etc. And that is when the result is like that. Whenever I have not had any interference, those tracks and albums have worked extremely well like a Dev D, Udaan, Lootera, Kai Po Che, Queen. In Udta Punjab thoda bahut interference tha, but not much. I did the music for Qala in just three days. I didn’t let anyone interfere at all, kisi ko mauka hi nahi diya! That’s my learning after all these years in this industry!

You’d completed the first six songs of the Dev D album in six months, and it was released without any changes. Has that ever happened in recent years?
It happened with Qala and Jubilee. It is such a pleasure to work with filmmakers like these. They just let you be. They give you that freedom to create. Their ideas and visions are really great. What they want to say in their films is also unique and working on such projects is an experience. To be a part of that vision and getting to create the way you want to and the freedom to bring in what you can in that space, is magic. But if you are chasing a certain parameter of success, whether it is commercial or there is a certain mindset, it is a different ballgame, and I don’t operate from that level.

It’s been 15 years as a composer in the Hindi film music industry. Would you say your journey has been more about ups than downs?
Life is like that – ups and downs toh rehta hi hai. Mostly ups and very little downs so far, and it has been a beautiful journey and I am immensely grateful for that. Jo bhi bura hona hai woh toh hota hi hai. But then, I have a habit of rubbing things off and moving forward constantly. I never look back. Never have. Always aage chalo. Keep working. I never look at the lows in life.