In tune with learning

When Sachin Sanghvi and Jigar Saraiya were assisting Bollywood composer Pritam Chakraborty, they had no idea that their individual musical paths were about to converge into a common destiny. As Sachin-Jigar, they have now carved a niche for themselves as a composer duo with popular scores for theatre, television shows and films. As they gear up for the release of their upcoming Bollywood soundtracks this year — Meri Pyari Bindu, A Flying Jatt, Bang Bang 2 and many others — they look back at their journey together and recount some of the most important lessons it has taught them.

“We never actually discussed becoming a duo,” Jigar reveals as he recalls the duo’s initial days of working together. “Sachin and I did some projects together and I think at some point we both understood that we complement each other. His strengths are my weaknesses and vice versa,” he adds. Sachin chimes in, “We realised that we had more in common than just music. We’re not just partners in rhyme!” Ask them what role each of them plays in their joint creative process and Jigar says, “When one of us is exhausted of ideas, the other one takes over. That’s literally how we work.” Sachin agrees and adds, “We have only one computer and therefore whatever we do progresses in one direction, with the two of us taking turns in front of the machine. The idea is to just push each other till a tune becomes a song.”

When they embark on this process together, what is the first thing that they take into consideration before beginning with a tune “We look for an element that listeners will take away from the song and keep with them. That one catchy tune or lyrical phrase that can become the yet-to-be-born song’s identity. From there, it can sometimes go completely wrong where we have to start over or the song can come together in no time,” Sachin shares.

Everything they have accomplished so far as composers has come after years of training under some of the Indian music industry’s most illustrious names: A. R. Rahman, Vishal-Shekhar, Nadeem-Shravan, Rajesh Roshan, Anu Malik and many more. Referring to them all as their gurus, Sachin tells us, “Each of them had a unique style and set of experiences and we found lessons to learn from them all. One of the most important things we learnt, especially with regard to composing for films, was relying on the script and finding the song within the heart of the story it set out to narrate. Pritam sir taught us to try till the very last moment to make the song bigger and better - right up to the instant when the master would leave our studio as the final product, so that we would have no regrets. Raju bhai (Rajesh Roshan) taught us how to make meaty, pure melodies that never leave the hearts of listeners ” Jigar adds, “That was the most interesting part of our career, actually — each of them had their own take on songs and song-making. One thing I felt we learnt from them that we’ve kept with us ever since, is a better understanding of the audience and their perceptions. Over time, we’ve both gained greater insight in that regard.”

In what other ways have they seen themselves evolve over the years, as musicians as well as individuals “Every recording teaches us a lesson. Every person we work with gives us a new perspective about our own abilities to create music. We’ve grown to understand that sometimes, you have to unlearn what you know to deliver the right goods. But it is a vast, dynamic and sometimes crazy process. There is so much to absorb from everyone, everywhere. Individually, I have become much more patient than I was before. I speak less and I wait for the tune with much more poise. As a duo, we have grown closer — we even complete each other’s sentences sometimes! There are moments where we are so different and we fight too, but all the while fully aware that it’s all about finding the tune in the end. That’s the important thing. So we regroup, respect each other’s point of view and keep moving forward. We back each other up now, better than ever before. We are family, music or no music,” Sachin concludes.