Fresh off Khuda Haafiz: Chapter 2 – Agni Pariksha and Hit: The First Case, composer, lyricist and singer Mithoon is gearing up for the release of the upcoming film Shamshera, starring actors Ranbir Kapoor and Vaani Kapoor, which sees him as the composer. For the musician, composing and penning the lyrics for the songs made for a challenging and unique experience as the period actioner is set in the 1800s.
Talking about it, Mithoon says, “Emotions are timeless. But when it came to presentation of the emotions, the instrumentation, the soundscape and the orchestration had be in line with the time zone in which the film is set in and the soundscape it has in its totality. In Fitoor, I used tablas, ghatam, matkas, ghungroos and loops, which is a rooted string instrument that has been there for hundreds of years. The idea was to create a certain kind of earthy emotion and intimacy between Balli and Sona (the characters played by Ranbir and Vaani).”
But the musician confides that he had no pressure of catering to Ranbir’s stardom while composing the tracks. “What’s more important is the character that an actor is playing,” he says, adding, “Karan Malhotra (director) took me through the costumes, the lighting and the landscapes they visited while shooting. Ranbir is playing a role like Balli for the first time. So, I didn’t cater to his image as an actor but his character in the film.”
He lauds the visuals of Fitoor and credits the makers for creating a spectacle that perfectly accentuates the melody composed by him. “It’s one of the best songs ever shot in Hindi film cinema. Not just the scale but also the nuances in the song has been captured very well. The locations, the lagoon and the colours used in the video completely justify the hollow instruments I’ve used in Fitoor,” Mithoon shares.
After chartbusters like Tum Hi Ho (Aashiqui 2; 2013) and Humdard (Ek Villain; 2014), Fitoor sees him collaborating with singer Arijit Singh. Happy to see him evolving into a singing sensation today, Mithoon says, “Any dedicated artiste would follow a path of growth. Arijit and I literally started our careers together. He’s somebody who’s genuinely in love with music and has worked very hard on himself. It’s his dedication that is paying off.”
