Rahman has set a goal for all of us!' -A<http://www.screenindia.com/news/rahman-has-set-a-goal-for-all-of-us/421678/#> *+A<http://www.screenindia.com/news/rahman-has-set-a-goal-for-all-of-us/421678/#> * Font *Rajiv Vijayakar <http://www.screenindia.com/columnist/rajivvijayakar/>*Posted: Feb 13, 2009 at 1537 hrs IST Print <http://www.screenindia.com/story.php?id=421678&pg=-1>Email<http://www.screenindia.com/static/story-email/> Newsletter <javascript:void(0)>Post Comments<http://www.screenindia.com/news/rahman-has-set-a-goal-for-all-of-us/421678/#postcomm> RSS <http://www.expressindia.com/fesyndication/screen.xml>
*His fifth solo film Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye released last week, Lalit Pandit is now upbeat about the musical scene in general and his career in particular* The '90s, say careful music observers, belonged to Jatin-Lalit more than to anyone else. From Yaara Dildaara in 1990 to Sarfarosh and Sungharsh in 1999, the duo touched peaks as momentous as Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Khamoshi and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. In the millennium, the hits turned few and far-between (Mohabbatein, K3G, Hum Tum, Fanaa) and after the last film Jatin and Lalit Pandit parted ways professionally, even if they still appeared together on reality television. After the split, Lalit Pandit soon went on to release Life Mein Kabhi Kabhie, Showbiz, Rafoo Chakkar and the audio of Horn OK Pleasss. His Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye has just released. But in this same period music underwent a paradigm change. As we lounge in his cool music room, Lalit exhibits a calm that seems at variance with the turbulent change in musical trends. "I agree that music has changed a lot since Jatin and I parted ways. And it's not all for the better, because they are too much into finding tunes from the 'Net. We know of a top-name filmmaker who had to pay a huge sum to the original rights' owners because his music director had not informed him that a song had recorded was copied from a foreign source!" But Lalit is quick to add that there are new music makers who have impressed him too. "Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy are very strong in composition and orchestration. Vishal-Shekhar's songs have a lot of freshness. And A.R.Rahman has set a goal for all of us to aspire with his awards and Oscar nomination for Slumdog Millionaire. It may not be his best work but his mehnat has paid off and that an Indian has reached there is a very prestigious moment for the country." The composer is also confident that melody is going to come back in a big way. "Good songs always register," he points out. "Jatin-Lalit's strength was always melody and now I am enjoying the process of changing my music to blend with modern orchestration and today's phrasing. Frankly, our '90s music was easier to make. Today's music, if one has to integrate melody, is tougher, more challenging." A guitarist and pianist besides being a composer, Lalit says that and he is not out-of-sync with such change. "We were the youngest from the '90s lot of Anu Malik, Nadeem-Shravan and Anand-Milind, all of whom technically belonged to the '80s. We came in during the transit phase and got the best of both worlds, down from working with R.D.Burman as child singers to composing songs written by Anand Bakshiji and Majrooh Sultanpurisaab." Lalit admits that his solo work to date has been lacklustre, but stresses that more than ever before the director's vision has become important in inspiring a composer today. "Every word has to be interpreted. When the director has done his homework on a film good work becomes easy. It becomes still easier when a big film is there and also big stars. In that sense, my real break will be Muddassar Aziz's Dulha Mil Gaya, my ninth film with Khansaab (as I refer to Shah Rukh Khan). I have experimented with Amit Kumar's voice on him in both songs, for the first time after Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa." But two trends that Lalit would not care to follow are the current fads for using non-singers and also pitching male voices high. "I cannot think along such lines," smiles the composer. "I come from a gharana of musicians and singers and singing for films is no joke. A good singer can even lift a kamzor song. But I have always believed in introducing fresh, deserving talent and today I am glad that new voices are being accepted better than before." Finally, we have been hearing that the estranged duo are coming back together. Is that true? "I am afraid not," says the composer. http://www.screenindia.com/news/rahman-has-set-a-goal-for-all-of-us/421678/ -- regards, Vithur
