From composing the adrenaline-fuelled soundtrack of Uri: The Surgical Strike and the National Award-winning music of Article 370 to delivering chartbusters such as Challa (Main Lad Jaana), Behe Chala and the hit songs from Dhurandhar, music composer Shashwat Sachdev has steadily carved a niche for himself in Bollywood. With his latest work generating buzz, Sachdev reflects on building a career without industry connections, why equal access still remains a challenge, and why the greatest threat to music is not artificial intelligence but a growing dependence on algorithms over artistic instinct.

Despite winning the National Award, Sachdev believes the industry has not yet become an entirely level playing field for newcomers.

"I do not think the industry can be described with one verdict. It is more open in some ways, but access is still unequal. If you inherit a musical family, you may inherit vocabulary, introductions, a safety net, or simply the confidence that a life in art is possible. Someone without that inheritance may take longer to enter the room and may have to prove the right to remain there. That difference is real, and it should not be romanticized."

At the same time, he insists that privilege alone cannot sustain a career. "Inheritance can only take you to the beginning. It cannot write the melody, carry a film through difficult months, or create trust with collaborators. Once the work begins, discipline, imagination, temperament and the ability to serve a larger vision are the same demands for everyone."

Reflecting on his own journey, he says, "No success is solitary either. Behind any person who is recognized are people who sacrificed, waited and worked without being seen. So yes, merit matters, but access often determines how early you are allowed to demonstrate it. My own journey has made me grateful, not bitter. I came with no professional inheritance, but I did not come empty-handed. I came with my parents' faith, my guru's training and an unreasonable love for music. Those were my first riches."

As artificial intelligence and algorithm-driven streaming reshape the music landscape, Sachdev remains less worried about technology itself than how creators respond to it.

"Originality has always been a complicated word. Every artist is made of memory: music heard as a child, teachers, heartbreak, cities, books and other people's work. Creation has never meant having no influences. It means transforming those influences through a life that only you have lived."

While he sees AI as a creative tool, he believes the human element remains irreplaceable. "A tool does not decide what is worth saying. The emotional decision still has to come from a person: why this note, why this silence, why this imperfection, why now."

His biggest concern, however, is the industry's increasing reliance on algorithms. "What worries me is not that machines will make music. It is that human beings may begin making music like machines, endlessly repeating what the data says is safe because algorithms reward familiarity and speed. Streaming numbers and social media can tell us what travelled quickly. They cannot always tell us what will remain in someone for twenty years."

For Sachdev, the future of music will continue to depend on artistic honesty. "Originality survives when an artist has the courage to interpret experience honestly. Technology may change the studio, distribution and even the questions around authorship, but the centre of creation must still be a human being trying to communicate a complex inner life to another human being."