Sumeet Bellary praises Pathaan’s original songs: ‘If done well then the original will stand out for sure’

Zee5 film Chhatriwali, released on January 20, features the wedding song Special Edition Kudi on actors Rakul Preet Singh and Sumeet Vyas. The song, which has become popular during the wedding season, was composed by Sumeet Bellary. The music director spoke about how he came to compose the lively dance number. (Also read: Chhatriwali movie review: Rakul Preet Singh shines as she sets out to teach not preach about condoms and sex education)

In an interview with Hindustan Times, Sumeet also shared his feelings about the current music scene and discussed how important it was to have a strong musical foundation in the industry. He has been in the business for over ten years and started out as a music producer. Learning the technical aspects of the field first, he composed a background score for the Marathi movie Taptapadi in 2012.

He then did the Hindi movie Fuddu (2016) starring Sunny Leone and Sharman Joshi and followed it with Fukrey Returns (2017). For Chhatriwali, Sumeet was approached by the film’s producers RSVP Movies and director Tejas Deoskar.

He recalled, “The team were looking for a song for a marriage thing. So they were shooting in Karnal and in the meantime, they asked around. We also got a call that koi shaadi ka gaana hai aapke paas (do you have a wedding song)? We took a brief from them on the outline of the story and everything. On that basis, we started making the song and we presented it.”

“When the call first came, we gave a rough demo. We presented around three-four of them. There were changes continuously. For the shoot, we have to make a song so that they can sync it. They completed the shoot and then we did it with the live instruments. It was a long process but part by part, it was done,” he continued.

Sumeet used the singers Sunidhi Chauhan and Gandhharv Sachdeva for the duet, and complimented the pair on their talents on the track. He shared, “Sunidhi is so well-trained as a singer. You just give her a tune and she catches fast and she gives it her best. And Gandhharv understands the feel of the song and we work well as a team. From the start, he was involved in the song making. He knew the roots of the song and what the feel is, etc.”

Given his brief of a wedding within the Hindi feature and the fact that it was based in Karnal, Haryana, Sumeet tried to incorporate Indian instruments as much as possible. He explained, “When the song starts, we have used folk music to make that connection with the crowd there. We have used an Indian dhol, mandolin, banjo. We had to target everyone from a small child to the elderly at the wedding. We added, in a very smart way, the Western instrumentation at the baseline. We mixed both together and tried to make it [catchy].”

Speaking about the new trend of recreations, the composer felt that these were just trends that worked with time. Earlier, he pointed out, remixes like Kaanta Laga were popular. “But at the same time, if you see, the songs of Pathaan that’s also original,” he said. “Then Salman Khan’s Dil Diyan Gallan [from Tiger Zinda Hai] also worked. These are all originals and also work beautifully. It’s done well then the original will stand out for sure. Recreation also works if it is done nicely. They each have their own space. In recreating it, people have already heard the melody. It’s a sure shot, easy way to hold people. In originals, you have to go one extra step. But that is already a part of [composing]. But that pays off in a good way. It has longevity with songs.

The composer, whose current musical inspirations include AR Rahman, Pritam, and Vishal – Sheykhar in Bollywood, shared that he listens to all types of music. Sumeet stated, “If you go to see, Bollywood is a completely different genre which incorporates all the world genres. Bollywood music is more unexplored right now. We follow the West, but the culture within India, it’s so beautiful if we incorporate it then the world will see what we have. [For example], Naatu Naatu being the original, it proves that original works nicely when done properly.”

Up next, he is launching a new song Mere Naal on his own music label. But he had this advice to give those who wanted to break into the business. “The advice I’ll give is to have patience and don’t use shortcuts. As an art, there is a lot of content which is coming up in a quantity way. The shelf life is short for that. Your basic foundation as a musician should be very strong if you want to stick around for the long term. Create different genres as a composer or as a singer. Then only you will be able to deliver variety to audiences,” he made clear.