Showing posts with label Rochak Kohli interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rochak Kohli interview. Show all posts
I couldn’t have made a better version of Pasoori Nu-Rochak Kohli
10:24 AM
Debarati S Sen (BOMBAY TIMES; June 30, 2023)
Earlier this week, Ali Sethi-Shae Gill’s Pasoori (2022) was recreated as Pasoori Nu and within hours of its release a meme fest was unleashed on social media and hate comments poured in. The Rochak Kohli-Ali Sethi composition, co-written by Gurpreet Saini and Ali and sung by Arijit Singh-Tulsi Kumar is actually an authorized recreation for Satyaprem Ki Katha.
In an exclusive conversation, Rochak Kohli spoke to us about it all.
‘I took it as a challenge to make my own version’
When the makers got the rights in place, music composer Rochak Kohli, who has given us independent songs as well as Bollywood songs like Lae Dooba (Aiyaary, 2018), Tu Hi Yaar Mera (Pati Patni Aur Woh, 2019) and others, was entrusted to compose the recreation. “I took it as a challenge to make my own version of it because I couldn’t have done a ‘better’ version of the original. The original one is a masterpiece. Recreating a song is not easy at all because there is a baggage of a superhit and a legendary song on you that you are supposed to recreate. Ali and I have wanted to work together for a long time and with Pasoori Nu, that has finally happened.”
‘Reactions turned positive overnight’
As soon as the song dropped, the social media furor began. The composer feels that when a popular song like that is recreated people just begin with hate comments even before listening to it. “The idea of recreating this song itself turned people off but when they actually listened to it, they took it in a positive way. In fact, I saw these reactions of people turn positive overnight. There were some comments that were made by people even before they had heard the song.
‘Appreciation on social media is not considered cool anymore’
Rochak says, “There is a set of people on social media who are just there to criticize, and we the creators, we all know it. Whether it was this song or any other song, if we put out something there are people who just put up hate comments. Appreciation on social media is not considered cool anymore. So, people don’t appreciate your work on social media.”
‘We are not hurting anyone’s sentiments; we have just put our song out’
Getting hate comments and memes is almost a norm. Rochak feels that even songs that are not recreations get hate. “Isme koi badi baat nahi hai ki original hai ya recreation. But itni hatred ki zaroorat hi nahi thi. We are not hurting anyone’s sentiments; we have just put our song out.”
I haven’t developed many new friendships over the years, I am still close to my childhood friends-Ayushmann Khurrana
8:08 AM
Today, on Friendship Day, the actor talks about the unbreakable bond that he has with his childhood friends. And, he shares memories of his growing-up years with one of his closest friends, Rochak Kohli, who is also a music composer
Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; August 2, 2020)
From Chandigarh to Mumbai, and from radio and television to movies — Ayushmann Khurrana’s journey is undoubtedly a fascinating one. And through all these years, and the highs and lows that are part of it, the one thing that has been a constant in his journey are his good ol’ friends. In fact, for his buddies, he is still the young boy they would hang out with and not the star that he has turned into today. “I haven’t developed many new friendships over the years. I have childhood friends who are non-judgmental. They love and treat me just like they would before my stardom. For them, I am the same old Ayushmann and they keep me grounded by giving me honest feedback about my work. For instance, my friend Nishchay Trehan, we watched a lot of films together since childhood and he is very critical about my work, so I appreciate his opinion,” explains the actor.On the occasion of Friendship Day, the actor takes time to thank his childhood friend, music composer Rochak Kohli. Ayushmann says, “I have known Rochak since eighth grade. We went to the same school, St John’s Boys School in Chandigarh. We became friends as soon as we discovered that both of us are crazily passionate about music. We shared the common talent of composing and writing songs, which was rare for students in the eighth grade.”
Talking about the bond they share, Rochak told Bombay Times, “I feel our friendship is like water. It’s essential, and it takes any mould. We have been friends for a long period of time, and like water, our friendship is pure. I guess paani is our favourite word, too, because Paani Da Rang was our first song together (laughs!).”
Rochak has fond memories of the time when they were new to Mumbai, where they came to pursue their dreams. He recollects, “It was a big deal for boys who have been born and brought up in a comfort zone in Chandigarh. It was a whole new window to the world, which we explored together.”
Rochak says, “In Mumbai, we used to travel in local trains, and at times, we had no money. In fact, we went to Goa without money and did odd jobs there to buy food. Looking back, I now cherish these memories, and I think that’s what brought us so close. We have been together through thick and thin. We married the girls we were dating since college, so the four of us are like a family now.”
Ayushmann shares some memories, and talks about an old picture clicked during their college days. The duo, along with a bunch of boys, flaunted their shaved heads for a college play. “I think we were getting ready for one of our performances in college (DAV College, Chandigarh). In this picture, we also have other friends — Kumar Saurav, Jaiveer Singh and Mayank Choudhary. We started this theatre group in college called Aaghaaz, and this play was called Kumaraswami, in which I was the lead character. All the boys went bald for it. Rochak and I have done a lot of plays together. In the first year, we were together in the Greek play Spartacus. In the second year, it was Kumaraswami, which is when the picture was clicked, and in the third year, we were part of Andha Yug, and my character’s name in it was Ashwathama.”
Ayushmann says that even today, he is in touch with his school friends. “In fact, Rochak and I have been in touch with our school and college friends, too. We are in touch with 40 other boys, who were part of our section in school. I think that’s what makes it easy for us to deal with the adversities,” he says.
Currently, Ayushmann and Rochak are in Chandigarh with their respective families. The actor is taking this opportunity to connect with his buddies. He signs off, saying, “We are keeping our meetings very minimal because of social distancing. At times, I just meet my buddies like Rochak or Nishchay or my theatre group friends like Gautam Sharma, Gurpreet Saini, Aviral Gupta and Charandeep Kalra.”
Ayushmann Khurrana and Rochak Kohli, along with their friends, had shaved their heads for a play during their college days
Vishal Dadlani is like that cool college senior you love to hang around-Rochak Kohli
7:43 AM
Music composer Rochak Kohli talks about the making of the lullaby-based Lalla Lalla Lori from Welcome 2 Karachi
Kasmin Fernandes (BOMBAY TIMES; June 26, 2015)
How did the music for Welcome To Karachi happen?
Welcome To Karachi initially had a Sufi approach towards music, with Irrfan and Arshad (Warsi) playing the two characters. It was then a very subtle script which was not an out-and-out comedy. Vrajesh Hirjee (the film's writer) is a good friend and used to narrate over coffee sessions the scenes which he wrote. I was asked to compose a song for the film. I met the director Ashish (R Mohan) and gave them a Sufi song, Walli Waras, which became the theme song for the film. Later, Jackky (Bhagnani) came in and the film had a much younger approach. Thus the music had to be young and contemporary, so it was dropped. I really loved composing the last song, Mera Yaar Funtastic.
What was the brief for Lalla Lalla Lori?
Jackky wanted a promotional song for the film, as all the other songs were situational. One day, he frantically called and asked me to try out a fun version of the lullaby. He had earlier tried it out with four other composers but nobody could crack it. It took me two days. Jackky was jumping with joy when he heard the first cut. Getting Vishal (Dadlani) to sing was fun. He is a multi-talented man with a great attitude. He is like that cool senior in college with whom you love to hang around. The lyrics are really funny. It didn't take much for me to write those words. You just have to imagine a bigda hua dilli ka launda and it's all there! As the song caught on, our friends' “socially aware“ organisations woke up and asked to ban the song. The court later rejected the PIL and I knew the song was now a hit. I'm thankful to the film's makers for allowing me to experiment with genres that weren't my forte.
Tell us about Boat Ma Kukdookoo.
As the film was based on two Gujju characters, we needed a quirky Gujarati number. Hirjee helped me crack the idea for it. He would take me on a drive and we'd discuss the funny incidents at a typical garba party. Mika (Singh) is always a fun experience to record and he added spunk. Jackky was supervising the music.
You have a long association with Ayushmann Khurrana right from your debut film.
Ayushmann and I go back a long way. We got to know of each other in Class 8, when he joined the same school I was studying in (St Johns, Chandigarh). Casually one morning, I was playing percussion with my table and geometry box, when Ayushmann sat on the desk and started singing, Hai Apna Dil To Awara. We became great friends later, joined the same college, pursued music and theatre, travelled places and had the greatest times together. Ayushmann joined acting and I got into radio, which was a great step towards me being a music composer. He played Pani Da Rang to Shoojit Sircar, who was directing his debut film Vicky Donor and so our debut song happened.
How did music composing happen?
I decided to be a music composer during my radio days. I come from a family of lawyers and my father is a retired government official. I've always been a naughty child, so when I decided to take up law after schooling, they were a little relieved (sadda munda hun wadda ho gya hai). I went to DAV College, Chandigarh, which was a transforming point in my life. I was exposed to music and theatre like never before, and started taking things seriously. My mum bought me a guitar and a chord book. In six months, I was a 'poor man's expert' on my own and then started taking guitar tuitions. I completed my LLB and started attending court sessions with my grand dad, but my heart was into music. I had a wonderful stint in radio. I finally quit two years back and took on music fulltime after setting up my own studio. My wife Sukriti encouraged my tremendously and never let doubts wash out my mind. Life has been more eventful since then.
What's keeping you busy these days?
I'm working on the music of Monsoon Shootout, Bombay Mills and a Riteish Deshmukh-starrer. I'm also composing two singles, one sung by Ayushmann and another by Mika. I love spending my mornings and evenings with my family and it's great to see my two-year-old son Eklavya grow up.
What are your plans for the future?
I'd love to join a university and learn music. I have no formal music training, and whatever I know is through listening and experimenting with instruments and software.
Welcome To Karachi initially had a Sufi approach towards music, with Irrfan and Arshad (Warsi) playing the two characters. It was then a very subtle script which was not an out-and-out comedy. Vrajesh Hirjee (the film's writer) is a good friend and used to narrate over coffee sessions the scenes which he wrote. I was asked to compose a song for the film. I met the director Ashish (R Mohan) and gave them a Sufi song, Walli Waras, which became the theme song for the film. Later, Jackky (Bhagnani) came in and the film had a much younger approach. Thus the music had to be young and contemporary, so it was dropped. I really loved composing the last song, Mera Yaar Funtastic.
What was the brief for Lalla Lalla Lori?
Jackky wanted a promotional song for the film, as all the other songs were situational. One day, he frantically called and asked me to try out a fun version of the lullaby. He had earlier tried it out with four other composers but nobody could crack it. It took me two days. Jackky was jumping with joy when he heard the first cut. Getting Vishal (Dadlani) to sing was fun. He is a multi-talented man with a great attitude. He is like that cool senior in college with whom you love to hang around. The lyrics are really funny. It didn't take much for me to write those words. You just have to imagine a bigda hua dilli ka launda and it's all there! As the song caught on, our friends' “socially aware“ organisations woke up and asked to ban the song. The court later rejected the PIL and I knew the song was now a hit. I'm thankful to the film's makers for allowing me to experiment with genres that weren't my forte.
Tell us about Boat Ma Kukdookoo.
As the film was based on two Gujju characters, we needed a quirky Gujarati number. Hirjee helped me crack the idea for it. He would take me on a drive and we'd discuss the funny incidents at a typical garba party. Mika (Singh) is always a fun experience to record and he added spunk. Jackky was supervising the music.
You have a long association with Ayushmann Khurrana right from your debut film.
Ayushmann and I go back a long way. We got to know of each other in Class 8, when he joined the same school I was studying in (St Johns, Chandigarh). Casually one morning, I was playing percussion with my table and geometry box, when Ayushmann sat on the desk and started singing, Hai Apna Dil To Awara. We became great friends later, joined the same college, pursued music and theatre, travelled places and had the greatest times together. Ayushmann joined acting and I got into radio, which was a great step towards me being a music composer. He played Pani Da Rang to Shoojit Sircar, who was directing his debut film Vicky Donor and so our debut song happened.
How did music composing happen?
I decided to be a music composer during my radio days. I come from a family of lawyers and my father is a retired government official. I've always been a naughty child, so when I decided to take up law after schooling, they were a little relieved (sadda munda hun wadda ho gya hai). I went to DAV College, Chandigarh, which was a transforming point in my life. I was exposed to music and theatre like never before, and started taking things seriously. My mum bought me a guitar and a chord book. In six months, I was a 'poor man's expert' on my own and then started taking guitar tuitions. I completed my LLB and started attending court sessions with my grand dad, but my heart was into music. I had a wonderful stint in radio. I finally quit two years back and took on music fulltime after setting up my own studio. My wife Sukriti encouraged my tremendously and never let doubts wash out my mind. Life has been more eventful since then.
What's keeping you busy these days?
I'm working on the music of Monsoon Shootout, Bombay Mills and a Riteish Deshmukh-starrer. I'm also composing two singles, one sung by Ayushmann and another by Mika. I love spending my mornings and evenings with my family and it's great to see my two-year-old son Eklavya grow up.
What are your plans for the future?
I'd love to join a university and learn music. I have no formal music training, and whatever I know is through listening and experimenting with instruments and software.
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