“Ah, music… A magic beyond all we do here!” ― Dumbledore
That means even Harry Potter cannot weave the kind of magic a good musician can. Thankfully, Bollywood has many great composers. But there’s one name that particularly stands out amongst the current brigade of music directors in Indian cinema. No points for guessing that I am talking about Amit Trivedi.
After the legendary A.R. Rahman, if there’s someone who has managed to surprise us with each and every creation of his – it is Trivedi.
Do you remember TV heartthrob Rajeev Khandelwal‘s debut movie, Aamir? The 2008 release also marked Amit’s foray into music direction in films. The movie was far from being a box-office success but it did manage to impress the critics. The psychological thriller had left us rather gut-wrenched. However, while the story’s impact fizzled out over time, its music stayed with us – especially the hauntingly soul-stirring song, ‘Ek Lau‘ by Shilpa Rao. Trivedi also dished out a spiritual Sufi quawalli, ‘Ha Raham’ and a brilliant folksy track ‘Chakar Ghumyo’ in the same album.
That was just the beginning of his epic musical journey in Bollywood. He went on to bag numerous prestigious awards for his work in his next, Anurag Kashyap‘s dark drama, Dev D. The album consisted of 18 kickass songs, yes, 18! And mind you, all the renditions were starkly different from each other. This album boasted of various genres, many emotions and a lot of vibrancy.
‘Emosanal Atyachar’ is the darkest yet funniest shaadi number we’ve ever heard! ‘Nayan Tarse’ has a groovy lounge-ish appeal with some upbeat electronica. Trivedi loves blending folk rustic music with some rigorous flows of westernized arrangements. Soundtracks like ‘Pardesi’, ‘Duniya’ and ‘Dhol’ are perfect examples of interesting fusions. Gold star to Mr. Amit always keeping his music thematically apt. ‘Saali Khushi’ is one of my all-time favourite songs. It’s bitter, dark and yet a far cry from the typical Bollywood sad numbers.
Just when we thought that Trivedi’s music always has a certain dark vibe going on, he gave us several refreshingly romantic and heart-touching song like Iktaara from Wake Up Sid!. Of course, it won him many awards yet again.
I usually try not to use a lot of bombastic words in the pieces that I write. But I have already used so many of them above. I guess that’s what Trivedi’s music does to you – it makes you want to describe it in so many different ways. Versatility is his biggest strength and he has certainly played a pivotal role in changing the music scene in Bollywood. He churns out stuff that’s nothing like the typical run-of-the-mil filmy
I am not even going to get started about the songs of Udaan, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, Kai Po Che! and Queen – they have been life-changing for me, especially ‘Kinaare’ from Queen and ‘Zinda’ from Lootera. And he remixed the old popular song Hungama Hogaya and gave us a brand new tub-thumping happy party number. Oh, and I also love the English Vinglish tracks and ‘Main Pareshan‘ from Ishaqzaade. If I commence describing each soundtrack, I will go on and on and on… So let me make it way more simpler for you.
Why don’t you catch Amit Trivedi’s live performance at the Bollywood Music Project? The festival kicks off on the 30th over 2 days at Jio Gardens in BKC, and will feature a bunch of other popular and talented artists too. Get more details here, and make sure to book your tickets on BookMyShow!