If anyone who deserves credit for the success of Dabangg, after Salman and Abhinav Kashyap, they are writer Dilp Shukla and music dirctors Sajid and Wajid. I have realy liked the duo’s work in all the Salman movies. They are kind of underated. But it is upto them to prove themselves in a variety of films. ( Like Uttam Singh couldn’t do much after DTPH, and Ishmail Darbar failed to shine outside Bhansali’s films.) But for now, I must admit I enjoyed every song of Dabang and thought each one was perfect for the film.
Here is their Screen interview :
Sajid-Wajid are riding high. Dabangg’s score as a whole and Tere mast mast do nain have their own identity and charisma even outside the film. So what has changed in their lives and work after this triumph? And what remains constant?
The music room is filled with the aroma of freshly-cooked breakfast and tea, and Wajid sits on the floor, his harmonium in front of him, highlighting the nuances of his work through a live rendition of their songs from Dabangg and earlier films. Elder brother Sajid is indulgently proud about his brother’s vocal expertise, signifying a healthy ego-free base for a duo’s personal and professional relationship.
After a short while, Sajid excuses himself as some urgent work has come up, but as it is rare to find a musical duo with such perfect resonance, we quote them as one entity.
The euphoria of Dabangg is on. Your take on it as composers, please.
We feel very happy and very good about it. There is a right time for everything, and this time we have hit the bull’s-eye. Our music is being praised along with the film and on its own. There’s nothing bigger than both a film and its music becoming hits. If the film is being compared to 3 Idiots in the way people have welcomed it, there must be something about it, and about our songs too.
What do you have to say about the relationship between a film and its music?
There is a very intimate bond. If a film runs, so does the music. Good music, like what we composed for Main Aur Mrs Khanna and Veer, goes unnoticed or relatively unsung if a film does not do well. On the other hand, the songs of Dabangg, including Lalit Pandit’s only song, were super-duper hits even before the film released. Hit songs help a film too. This time, there is all-round taarif. People came to see their favourite star and loved him. But when they found that their favourite star was enacting their favourite songs, it was like sone pe suhagaa. A hit song makes a star shine, but a star also adds to a song’s popularity.
Were you comfortable with the single song that came in from Lalit Pandit, especially since you guys took nine years to get a solo film – Partner in 2007 – with Salman Khan
, your mentor?
Arbaaz Khan, who has produced Dabangg, had told us that he would be taking one song from Lalit because he wanted it, so it was fine.
Salman’s newest assignments, T-Series’ Ready and Atul Agnihotri’s next, both have music by Pritam, who has never worked earlier for Salman. Is there any significance?
(With a laugh) Why shouldn’t Salmanbhai work outside? By the way, we have signed a film with Venus and Priyadarshan, so if Pritam is coming into our territory, we too are going into his!
(Laughs again) We have had a very consistent record with Salmanbhai right from Hello Brother in 1999 till today. Even in Tere Naam, in which we had just two songs, our Lagan lagi has outlasted most songs by the other composer. Our songs in Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Partner and Wanted succeeded big time even before those films released. The music of Hello was appreciated and the song on Salmanbhai was a huge hit. Main Aur Mrs Khanna and Veer got us critical acclaim and appreciation from the industry. Show us one composer in recent times with such a track- record with him. Or with any other superstar.
But despite all these, your career has not really gone the way it should have. Why?
Maybe we are not too aggressive, and maybe we did not approach film producers or directors the right way. Agar koi hamein chahega to hamein bulayega, and we will work with him without hesitation. Yes, a big banner is important to take the song to the widest audience, but our work and range is there for all to see.
Your non-Salman films have barely got attention, despite good work in Kya Yehi Pyaar Hai, Sharaarat and Chori Chori.
True, the films did not do too well. On the other hand, our work in Kal Kissne Dekha was noticed even when the movie bombed. Our very first film, Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, saw us get so much respect for the qawwali, Teri jawani badi mast mast hai, the only song composed by us. We were brought in to do the rescue act in Welcome, in which our title-song was the only one that proved a hit and in Heroes, with the song Mannata. All this is apart from our many hit albums, led by T-Series’ record-smashing hit Deewana with Sonu Niigaam.
Could there be a misconception that you do big films only with Salman Khan?
That is a possibility. There is this megastar who told us once, “You are the guys who work with Salman!” as if that was something so completely exclusive. On the other hand, there are at least two big-name filmmakers who tell us how much they love our music and shy away when we talk about working with them! Maybe such groupism is affecting us, but if there were shortcomings in our work, we could understand.
Maybe a hit romantic film can change things.
Maybe. When we worked with (Anand) Bakshisaab in Chori Chori, he had sized up our range — we even began work on a Mukesh Bhatt film that was shelved and one song was later used in his Gunaah. Bakshisaab was very fond of us and would say, “Puttar, let’s do a romantic film together!” He even praised us to other composers.
Again, you have not done too many films with the big-name writers.
True. Besides Bakshisaab we have worked with Gulzarsaab and Sameerji. Now we are doing Tanveer Khan’s new film with Javed Akhtarsaab. We are open to everyone, but we are also very comfortable with Jaleesbhai, who is like our elder brother and is so talented. We also have a special place in our hearts for people who stood by us like rocks in our lean phase, and Jaleesbhai and Salman Khan’s family stood solidly by us when we were down and even had to do B-grade films like AK-47 and Mashooka for our bread and butter.
Coming back to Dabangg, you have worked once again with Faaiz Anwar, with whom you had done most of your earliest work.
Faaiz is an old associate and we never had issues with him. He wrote a song perfect for the mood in Tere mast mast do nain.
We would like to know something about how you make your music.
We prefer making the tunes first. The important thing is that the melody should come out dil se, not with calculation or design. Today is the era of phrases strung up and posing as songs! We read the Screen interview of Lalit Pandit and completely agree that Indian melody flows fluidly.
Also, even in our lowest phase or even right at the beginning of our careers, we have never shied away from classical touches to our songs — the harkatein and the murqiyaan. We never pandered to baser trends, but always tried for soulfulness in our songs. The foremost thing we keep in mind is our lineage — our grandfather Padma Shri Ustad Abdul Latif Khan downwards — and that we should do nothing jinse unnka sar jhuk jaaye. Our father, Ustad Sharafat Khan, told us, “Make your foundation so strong that your rival should think 10 times even about wanting to shake it.”
The music of Dabangg is undoubtedly the most successful score of the year so far. Can you elaborate on the score’s creation?
Jaleesbhai and we were very particular that no Punjabi word should come in as the film is set in the Hindi belt. We also were particular about the casting of our songs. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan puts his stamp on all his other songs — it is only when he sang for us in Main Aur Mrs Khanna, Veer and Dabangg that you see the stamp of the composer first! For Tere mast mast, we chose the to-and-fro lyrics pattern we had used earlier in Ab mujhe raat din in the album Deewana. In Saanchi saanchi teri nazrein we could not think of anyone other than Sonu Niigaam and Shreya Ghoshal, aur dono ne gaane pe apni jaan daal di. We got Sukhwinder to sing low in Hud hud dabangg, and yet the song had to reflect the aggressive and fearless persona of Chulbul Pandey, who stood up for his convictions and had rare inner strength. Jaleesbhai’s lyrics were fabulous.
As mentors on Zee Sa Re Ga Ma’s Singing Superstars, what is your approach?
We feel that it is very vital to give contestants the right direction. As our father says, “Ek guru ek kalaakaar ko apne aap se bhent karaa detaa hai” — a guru introduces his protege to himself, making him aware who he really is and what he wants out of himself. Our colleagues and we have ensured that the show has only positivity and no gimmicks.
How upset did you get when the soundtracks of Veer and Main Aur Mrs Khanna did not get their dues?
Frankly, we were not disturbed, because we are ecstatic that we got these opportunities to show what we could do! Veer, in particular, showed that there was even more to us than our gharana! In this era in which people are not realising the difference between a composition and a jingle, our only regret is that such opportunities do not come more often.
In the era of jingles as you call it, do you see any depth in anyone else?
Vishal Bhardwaj’s songs reflect a lot of depth.
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