Never has a background score said so much as that of Sanjay Leela
Bhansali's "Black". The musical phenomenon responsible for this magic
is Monty.
The 33-year-old composer is no stranger to Bhansali's cinema. Monty
was responsible for the songs in "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" and the
entire background score of "Devdas".
On "Black", Monty told IANS: "One day while we were doing a session
for 'Bajirao Mastani', Sanjay spoke to me about 'Black'. I wondered
after 'Devdas' what he intended to do in 'Black'.
"But Sanjay made it all so easy for me. He showed me a few scenes. One
day the main theme flashed across my mind and I played it for him.
Once he heard it, there was no turning back. The music just flowed."
Music runs in Monty's family. The composing maestro Pyarelal (of
Laxmikant-Pyarelal fame) is Monty's uncle.
The young composer said: "He's my father's elder brother. I think he's
the only complete composer. After his partner's death he went into a
shell. But now he has started working again.
"At the age of five, I started learning music. My uncle's violin used
to be my wake up call. When I started working with him I realized he
was absolutely in charge of his music, a total one-man show.
"His music is food for body and soul. That's the synthesis I want to
achieve. My main guru was my grandfather Pandit Ram Prasad Sharma. He
taught me the violin and other aspects of music, like how to fuse
Western and Indian sounds.
"I always wanted to compose. I want to be the creator of epic sounds.
I'm lucky to have done two epics 'Devdas' and 'Black'."
Monty recalled his introduction to Bhansali. He said: "During 'Hum Dil
De Chuke Sanam', music director Ismail Durbar had other arrangers. I
was just the keyboard player.
"Then there was a problem and I was asked to step in. They liked my
work. That's how we became close. Ismail asked me to arrange the songs
of 'Devdas'.
"I declined initially because I wanted to work on my own. Then Sanjay
asked me to do the background score. I couldn't say no to him."
Monty raved about his rapport with Bhansali. He said: "The level of
communication between us is astonishing. Though he's quite a musician
himself he has never interfered with my creativity. He just tells me
his vision and then lets me to do my own interpretations."
Does Monty feel that he's over-qualified to be a Hindi film composer?
"Not at all! In fact I'm still a student of music with a long way to
go," he said.
But background music is a thankless task in Hindi cinema. Monty
observed: "I know. But if you remember the background scores of my
uncle, they were as successful as the songs, especially in 'Hero' and
'Karz'.
"If I idolize my uncle, I also adore the earlier work of A.R. Rahman."
There are many unique aspects to the music of "Black". Monty agreed:
"Everything about 'Devdas' was so grand. We used so many voices to
create grandeur. In 'Black' I wanted to use fewer voices and much less
Indian classical music.
"The whole ambience created a different sound in my mind. The
background score had to create expression for the music. We used a
Middle-Eastern instrument called Duduk.
"Even when we used ragas, the voices sang at a low octave. My
grandfather had taught me to recognize the known emotions within a
situation and then to see how those emotions could be taken to a
different sphere through music.
"That's what I've done in 'Black'. Bhansali's vision helped me to get
the sound right.
"For Rani Mukherjee's character the whole world is black. Out of that
blackness emerges a triumphant light. So I've used the sounds of
strings and pianos to create an uplifting aura.
"For Amitabh Bachchan's character I had to create a fighting spirit.
He's a dying man with one ray of light in his whole world. That one
sound of the Duduk creates the right aura for his character."
Monty said he is excited about the release of the film's background music.
He said: "I don't know whether the music will be market-friendly. But
we've worked really hard on it. And if it works in the film, it might
work outside.
"But my main aim is to work abroad. I want to take my grandfather's
unused tunes to an international listener. I want to fuse his vision
with mine. It's a crazy dream. But I want to dare to dream."
