Vikram Montrose: Film music is changing and people are opening up to new…


Music composer-producer-singer Vikram Montrose, who recently won an award for his song in Shershaah, spoke to FirstPost about his experience of working with Rajkumar Hirani in Sanju, his songs in Liger, journey so far, the current scenario of Bollywood music and more…

Way back in 2014, music composer, producer, singer and multi instrumentalist, Vikram Montrose first stepped into the Hindi film industry with Sanjay Dutt’s production Hasmukh Pighal Gaya. However, this comedy starring Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, and Amitabh Bachchan in a special appearance, eventually failed to see the light of day.

But Sanjay Dutt did not forget Vikram’s work and introduced him to filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani when he was making the Ranbir Kapoor starrer Sanju, a biographical drama on the actor’s life. And that was when Vikram’s career in the Hindi film industry took off and he composed Kar Har Maidan Fateh and Baba Bolta from Sanju.

“This film has been special in more ways than one for me. Kar Har Maidan Fateh was a dream song for a newbie composer like me. And I was able to create that song because of the guidance and motivation from Sanjay Dutt,” he says. Vikram was new at that point in his career and he does not fail to mention it multiple times how thankful he felt for the opportunity he got and to the director of Sanju, Rajkumar Hirani. “I will be forever grateful to Rajkumar Hirani Sir for believing in me. I was a totally new guy. And to put that kind of responsibility and faith in me at that point, is something I can never forget.”

While the film got much critical acclaim for the powerhouse performances by Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal and fared well at the box office, the songs became super hits too. Vikram gets emotional talking about his song. “I feel so blessed that Kar Har Maidan Fateh has motivated and inspired people in ways that it makes me emotional. I hope I get more opportunities to create songs like these.”

Talking to us about the process of making the song, he says, “For me it was about understanding the extraordinary journey of Sanjay Dutt. It was great to witness the magic of Shreya Ghoshal and Sukhwinder Singh on the microphone, to the magic that was put on screen by Rajkumar Hirani, Ranbir Kapoor and Manisha Koirala Mam.”

When asked about the importance of the lyrics in a song, Vikram says, “I always feel that the heart and soul of Kar Har Maidaan Fateh is in the lyrics which were beautifully written by Shekhar Astitwa ji. It was a great learning experience for me.”

Vikram then went on to compose for Vidyut Jammwal, Adah Sharma, and Angira Dhar starrer Commando 3’s songs Tera Baap Aaya, Iraade Kar Buland, then Sidharth Malhotra, Kiara Advani starrer Shershaah‘s JaiHind Ki Senaa’ (the album won the Filmfare Award this year), Akshay Kumar, Kriti Sanon, Jacqueline Fernandez and Arshad Warsi starrer Bachchhan Paandey‘s Maar Khayegaa and others.

Recently, Vikram created The Liger Hunt Theme and Attack, for the Vijay Deverakonda and Ananya Panday starrer Liger, directed by Puri Jagannadh.

In the last few years, his repertoire of work has included songs of many genres and soundscapes.

Vikram is also into fitness feels inspired by Akshay Kumar who is a strict disciplinarian when it comes to health. “Working with Akshay Kumar Sir for MaarKhayegaa was definitely a special moment for me. He has been an inspiration and making music for him is truly special. The credit for that goes to Azeem Dayani who gave me the opportunity to create MaarKhayegaa.” Vikram has not just composed this song but co-written and also sung this one with Farhad Bhiwandiwala.

While Vikram has worked on a few non-film tracks like Mahiya and Gallan Teri he has worked more extensively in the Hindi film music industry. When asked what he has to say about the current music scenario in Bollywood, Vikram says, “Film music is changing and it will change even more. And with the newer generation coming and the rise of independent music, people are slowly opening up to new soundscapes and new approaches to songs. It is a blessing for an artiste like me and so many others who like thinking differently.”

He explains, “Sometimes a musician has so much music in him and he wants to share it with the world and now finally, there are numerous opportunities to do that if you have the patience. And that’s the reason why I started releasing my songs independently as well. Because I want my listeners to know what other music I make and that there’s lots to come.”

With his experience of delving into multiple genres he says, “Everyone’s expression of love, sadness or happiness cannot be the same and so the songs too need to have a different approach. There are so many styles that are unexplored. I feel the scope of music is increasing as there are slowly new experiments in film music happening. And it’s important because music can entirely change the way we see something. It’s important to understand that for a film, its music is as essential to the film as everything else is, because it helps to set a mood for the film. So music requires and demands equal energy and focus as do all other aspects of filmmaking. And it should not be just about getting a song approved to be a part of the film where the song doesn’t help a film. That’s a music director’s responsibility to try and do something out of the box without the fear of rejection and that’s when our music will soar to new heights.”

He believes that is how Tera Baap Aaya from Commando 3 happened. “It was the first of its kind song when I had played it to Vipul Shah and Aditya Datt and that song went right ahead. I believe that when you make a song with complete honesty as an artiste it always finds the audience. And I’m blessed that it is happening with each of my songs.”

Debarati S Sen is a consultant journalist and writer who writes on music, culture, theatre, films, OTT and more. Instagram: @DebaratiSSen

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