Music composer and vocalist Anand Bhaskar started his career with a corporate job but soon left it to pursue his passion. His marked his debut as a playback singer with Get Ready To Fight Again from Baaghi 2 (2018), which was followed by the song Shaabaashiyaan from Misson Mangal (2019). But it was the immensely popular web series Mirzapur, which proved to be a turning point in his career. It saw him composing Munna Rap and Raakh. Along with his band called Anand Bhaskar Collective, he went on to compose the score of web projects such as Masoom, Dr Arora and Bombay Begums.
In an exclusive chat with News18, Bhaskar talks about how Mirzapur proved to be a game-changer for him. “I composed the songs for the first season without ever expecting that the show is going to become so big. In fact, what made all the noise about my contribution to the show was a song I composed for the first season titled Vaaroon, which is sung by Romy and penned by Ginny Diwan. That song organically garnered such a huge fan base that the songs from the second season automatically picked up,” he recalls.
Currently, he’s in the process of working on the soundtrack for the third season of Mirzapur, the shoot for which began a few months back. Talking about it, he says, “I’ve always been a proponent of composing songs in a way that the viewers of the show don’t expect. That being said, in season one and two, you can see influences of pop, hip hop, rock and Sufi, all seamlessly blended with the local eastern UP influences because that’s where the show is based. I’m adapting a similar approach for season three.”
Bhaskar believes that the best music comes from closely working with directors. He’s rather thrilled with the jam sessions that he has been having with Gurmmeet Singh, the director of Mirzapur as he elaborates, “I always love brainstorming with my directors because every director is a school for a composer. I feel like I learn more about music composition and film scoring from my directors than I would have learned from any other medium. For this season, Gurmmeet Singh – who has always been supportive of my work – and I are constantly brainstorming about how the songs can bring out the essence of the story.”
The Pankaj Tripathi, Divyenndu and Ali Fazal starrer web show might have a very rustic feel to it, its songs, however, boast of new and modern sounds and instrumentation. Quiz him about striking a balance between both the worlds and Bhaskar explains, “I’ve trained in Indian classical vocals for nearly two decades, and my musical upbringing combined with my passion to discover new genres and sounds every day helps me meld all kinds of sensibilities into a melting pot that ultimately becomes a song that is liked by almost everybody.”
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The musician, who came up with his debut instrumental album Light early this year, adds, “I won’t be true to the music I create if I don’t inculcate my own influences in the songs I compose. And those influences come from rock, hip hop, jazz, pop, electronica etc.”
Many believe that the boom in the web space has not only opened up greater opportunities for actors and technicians but also helped musical artistes. Apart from giving a boost to original music, it also offers a platform for newer talents. Sharing his thoughts on the same, Bhaskar remarks, “OTT-based projects have democratised opportunities for newer artistes, whether they’re composers or actors. It’s also a freer space for composers to write songs that don’t pander to perceived mainstream taste in music. A lot of the music that has been written or is being written for the OTT space is fresh and is the kind of music you’ve never heard before.”
He also lauds the digital world and its shows for letting musicians constantly push the envelope and experiment with new tones, textures and genres. “There is a plethora of genres that music composed for OTT projects generously cover, which cannot be said about what’s happening with film songs these days. My take is that if you’re tired of the same old style of music production, the same voices and the same musical arrangement that is offered by film songs, OTT soundtracks is where you’ll find fresh music,” asserts the artiste, who is awaiting the release of the second part of his instrumental album titled Dark.
