Jasleen Royal is young, but her jaunty laugh shaves years off her age. She isn’t burdened by the need to establish her prowess over her craft when addressing questions, but camouflaged within her playful responses are important nuggets for artistes. The first among them addresses a vital question — in a male-dominated music-composition industry, how has a young musician like her made success look so easy?

“Earlier, I’d wonder what the fuss around a male and a female composer is. But, I realised that while growing up too, I had to fight for little things, like [resisting] the early deadline to return home only because you are a girl. I understood that it’s all ingrained. We don’t even realise that we are always putting up a little more of a fight. But all women, especially those in India’s interiors, who are not always afforded opportunities, should follow their dreams. Having said that, it’s important to know that only promising work will get you good [opportunities]. Kaam se hi chance milega. I am glad that people appointed me for my work,” says the singer, who has composed the entire score for Ajay Devgn’s upcoming film, Runway 34.

Royal’s previous collaboration with Devgn in Shivaay brought her in his good books. Even though the actor is a man of few words, Royal says when he speaks, “it’s always important”. “He initially called me for a few songs, and then we kept adding some more. It’s an expensive film, and it’s his directorial venture. So, the fact that he trusted me is a big deal. The best part about working with him is that he is open to new ideas. If I pitch an idea and he loves it, but I am unhappy with how it eventually sounds in the studio, he’s willing to let me try something new,” says Royal, delighted that the film’s Mitra Re, released a few days ago, is already earning acclaim.

Royal pins her ability to have found her way in the industry to a few crucial factors. To begin with, she isn’t easily attached to her projects. Also, she’s always willing to make amends to her work. “My approach towards any work has always been this — I need to love the song. If I don’t love it, I’m lying to whoever I take it to. When they take it, I’m done. Sometimes, if they ask me to make changes to make it more palatable, I’m wiling to do so, because even I want my song to be enjoyed by more listeners.”

She, however, agrees that any creative artiste is always challenged by one thing — the mental block, “when you don’t know what to do next”. What does she do next? “I share a good rapport with my lyricist Aditya Sharma. We chat, or head for a drive and discuss anything unrelated to music. When either of us is stuck, the other reminds them that such obstacles have been overcome in the pasts. If I’m at home, my [domestic help] will say, ‘Didi, ho jayega’. So, everyone is involved,” she laughs, safe in the knowledge that even if she must play 1,500 tunes, she will find five crucial ones that will get the job done.

Our conversation is incomplete without addressing the success she received for Shershaah’s Ranjha, which found a spot on the Billboard Global Excl US charts. “I made a song that I love. [The team] did a great job with the marketing plan, and the film worked too. Everything worked.”

While the number of women working off the camera on a film set has increased marginally, the music industry still continues to have a skewed gender ratio. Jasleen Royal, who has composed songs like Kho Gaye Hum Kahan (Baar Baar Dekho; 2016) and Din Shagna Da (Phillauri: 2017), believes that the number of mainstream female music directors is lower, compared to their male counterparts.

“History tells us that women began voting much later. Women still need to fight their families to step out for work. There is a deep conditioning, and changing the structure will take a while. We will achieve gender equality when biases can be eradicated from the ground level,” says the singer.

However, Royal is hopeful that the future seems bright. “The change is happening slowly. Today, we have female music composers such as Parampara Thakur and Sneha Khanwalkar. When we have women like them to look up to, more girls will be inspired to pursue their dreams,” she shares.

Another concern that she has been vocal about is her songs being dropped from films at the last minute. She cites the example of Ranjha from Shershaah, which she had composed for another film. “I won’t ever hold it against the people who drop my songs. I’m just happy making music and I know it will eventually find its place,” says the Love You Zindagi (Dear Zindagi; 2016) singer, adding, “This has happened to me a lot of times. So, I understand the drill now. If a song gets dropped, that doesn’t mean I did a bad job. Everyone doesn’t understand every song.”

Jasleen Royal’s latest track, Ranjha, from the film Shershaah has become a chartbuster. Multiple cover versions and Instagram reels later, the love ballad debuted in the US Billboard charts. But the composer-singer remains unfazed. “I’m not feeling any of it,” she says with a laugh, adding, “Maybe it hasn’t really sunk in yet. I get a high when I’m creating something. Once people like it and it gets circulated, it gradually starts hitting me. This success hasn’t come overnight. I’m trying to wrap my head around it.”

Not one for the numbers game, Royal believes that the success of a track can’t be based on the eyeballs it gets on social media. “It isn’t really an important parameter for me. I’ve had songs that became popular after some years of their release, such as Kho Gaye Hum Kahan (Baar Baar Dekho; 2016) or Din Shagna Da (Phillauri; 2017),” she explains.

Talking about how every song has its own journey, the musician says, “I don’t think that a song can be labelled as a bad one if it doesn’t get 10 million views soon after it’s dropped. Some songs need to stand the test of time to become popular.”

Royal has also been in the news in recent times due to her vacation pictures with her gal pals, actors Radhika Madan and Sara Ali Khan.

She shares, “If we didn’t take the trip now, it would have been pushed indefinitely, because all of us will be busy in the coming months. We decided to go to Leh and make the most of it. It’s such a beautiful place. I was with the best company and we had a lot of fun! Sara is very energetic and wanted to do everything possible. Radhika just wanted to relax and sip on coffee.”

Alokananda Dasgupta, Jasleen Royal and Kausar Munir

Intricate and impassioned as they are, conversations on music composition with Alokananda Dasgupta are delightful for every interviewer. A far cry from the superficial accounts of the art, Bengali filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s daughter always elucidates her answers with those engrossing anecdotes of the concerned project that enhanced her final creative piece. It is this obsession with the craft that, she admits, is an essential to enjoy a long career, especially in a field that, much like many others, is attuned to the needs of men.

“It may sound like a cliche, but, keep at it,” says Dasgupta, adding, “You must have a [deep] desire to keep at it, despite disillusionment, and intimidations, and know why you wish to express yourself. The truth is that scoring can get monotonous, because one is watching and re-watching [the film] over and over again. So, only if something is up my alley am I usually kicked about composing for it. I will make something that I want to hear as a viewer, and hence take my role as an audience and consumer of that project, very seriously.”

Following her acclaimed work in Sacred Games with shows like Leila, Breathe: Into the Shadows, and the fast-paced AK vs AK, Dasgupta doesn’t shy away from admitting that gender discrimination, while not exclusive to the film industry, is something she encounters owing to the authority afforded to her as music director. “Sometimes, I am egged on to analyse why certain incidents happen, and I understand that people hesitate to accept instructions from a female [musician], who doesn’t look old either. I’ve chosen to wear horse-blinders for several issues. Things may upset people, but what can I do? It is my job, I have to talk to them and tell them what has to be done.” 

Admitting that gender bias isn’t the concern that initially perturbed her about a probable career as music composer, Dasgupta says she had other battles to wage, including her rather introverted nature. “I am not a people person, and prefer spending time with [my pets]. But, I learnt on the job, and could see the loop holes and inequalities. It wasn’t shocking [to see discrimination since such instances] subtly make way into every woman’s life. For me, it started with insecurities due to simple things like being unable to participate in conversation with my male contemporaries [on topics like technology, which they can freely indulged in].” Patriarchy, she says, is so deep-seated in society that “even a filmmaker making a [pro-women] documentary is likely to come home and do something that [can be classified] as patriarchal behaviour.” 

For 29-year-old Jasleen Royal, singe-songwriter-composer, an increase in representation of women’s perspectives will offer a breath of fresh air in the music industry, and some respite from the barrage of “songs on infidelity” that have been topping the charts. “I would love to see female writers hold more key positions in the industry than they do. The industry welcomes both genders, and only considers the work that one can create. But, given that women started working late, it will take time for them to catch up,” says the singer-songwriter, adding that focussing on the creative piece, instead of the artiste who is creating it, has enabled her to develop a good ear for music. 

“Women have different perspectives on matters, but let’s acknowledge that several women-oriented films have been beautifully penned by [male writers like] Gulzar sa’ab too. So, it’s essential to be influenced by good art alone.” 

Royal, with films like Baar Baar Dekho and Gully Boy on her resume, says despite all odds, it is her ability to create work that she loves, that has repeatedly borne fruit. “I believe that only if I love what I put out are there more chances of others loving it too.” 

Mirroring  Dasgupta’s opinion, lyricist Kausar Munir says a fair share of the path to acclaim in the music industry is spent in oblivion. “You are shooting in the dark because there will be no appreciation [for a long time]. You need to spend time, and effort [in enhancing] your skills, and have faith, which is what makes the process difficult. There are several sociological factors [that deter] women from exploring the field. You need women in production arts, but as far as writing is concerned, their representation is abysmal. It could be because the writing process is disordered and fluid. There is no clear path to success, so you have to be obsessed with your work. It is a rigorous path with little guarantee of return. Women want something more promising,” says Munir, adding that though she stumbled upon the career by happenstance, she was able to pave her path by exploring various avenues of writing, instead of sticking to lyrics-writing, alone.  

Munir counts herself among the fortunate for two reasons — to begin with, she claims to have not faced gender discrimination, as we know it. Also, on the rare occasion that she did, she could afford to walk out of the project, without worrying about her bread and butter. However, aware that her appointment on any project is owing to a skill-set that only she possesses, Munir celebrates factors that set her apart. Responding to questions on drivers of success, she says, “I know that there is something I can deliver, which is why I am appointed for the job. If I try to be an Amitabh [Bhattacharya] or Irshad [Kamil], I am being unfair to myself. I have recognised what makes me unique, and why I am appointed for projects. So recognizing your ability, and nurturing it will take you where you want to be.” 

Admitting that the “system isn’t conducive for women”, Munir says several practices would be termed unprofessional by aspiring singers. “If I am called for a project at 12 midnight, I can go. But many women cannot. They may find it unprofessional, which it is. But this system is tuned against women. I am not even going into the [sexual] harassment aspect, which is prevalent. To women, I would say, don’t be afraid to fail, and tread new paths.”

She waltzed into Bollywood with Preet (Khoobsurat) and established herself with subsequent outings, including Badla Badla (Badlapur) and Kho Gaye Hum Kahan and Nachde Ne Saare (Baar Baar Dekho). And now, Jasleen Royal is back with Raatein in Shivaay. The youngster has composed and sung the emotional track that highlights the father-daughter bond. “The song has two versions and the second one's picturisation is completely different from the former and the scenes are action-packed. Raatein was supposed to be recorded in a male voice. But the team got so used to my voice that we retained it,“ she laughs. In a chat with BT, Jasleen reveals how she was inspired by Ajay Devgn, who has directed and acted in the film, to come up with the number and why she can't think beyond music.

We hear there's an interesting story behind how you landed Shivaay.
The movie happened almost two years ago, when I had not even shifted to Mumbai. Irrfan sir had liked one of my singles, Panchi Hojavan, and had invited me over to perform at his house party. Turns out, the guests included the producers of Shivaay as well. The next day, I got a call from them and I was quite excited that I would be working on Ajay sir's film. He briefed me about Raatein and cited his own example. He told me how his kids, especially Yug, would never think twice before doing anything risky or adventurous because he knew his dad was there to protect him. I worked with Aditya Sharma on the lyrics and the team loved the end product.

From a reality show semi-finalist to making a mark in Bollywood, the journey must be overwhelming...
Mine is not an overnight success story. Things have happened over a period of time. After my stint in India's Got Talent, I did a single, which got picked up by a music channel. Then, I worked with Swanand Kirkire on another song. Sneha Khanwalkar and Rhea Kapoor heard my song and offered me Khoobsurat. Later, other projects in Bollywood, including indie films, happened. I've always been working and I think the journey is smooth.

Do you fear competition?
I stay far from it. Even if there are no films, I will continue to make music. I've never had a Plan B in my life. So, there's nothing else I will fall back on.