Pritam forms rock band for 'Metro'

Mumbai, May 11 (IANS) Music director Pritam Chakbraborty, who rocked the charts with "Dhoom-2", formed a rock group for Anurag Basu's intriguing film "Metro" that released Friday.

"The entire music score in 'Metro' is heavily rock-oriented. I needed to form a rock band that would be an integral part of the narrative, besides performing the songs. I auditioned a number of new singers and musicians," Pritam told IANS.

Pritam included?

"With Anurag Basu, you can never say," he laughed uncomfortably. "Even in 'Gangster - A Love Story' I had no intention of being a part of the musical set-up on screen. But Basu forced me to be in the song 'Bheegi bheegi'. Likewise, I ended up being part of my rock band in 'Metro'."

Pritam didn't use tried and tested voices for the film about life in big cities.

"It couldn't be Sunidhi Chauhan and KK. It had to be voices never heard before. 'Metro' isn't your conventional film music."

In fact, Pritam isn't into conventional voices these days. In "Dhoom 2" he used the voice of Vishal Dadlani of the composing duo Vishal-Shekhar.

"That was completely Aditya Chopra's idea. Also, you must remember Vishal was a singer in a rock band before he became a composer.

"I personally wanted Jay Shawn to do the English version of the 'Dhoom' song. But once Vishal came in, I was convinced he was the best man for the job. He never played composer during the recording and obeyed my instructions completely."

The "Dhoom 2" soundtrack was greeted with some amount of disappointment.

"I was prepared for that. 'Dhoom' came with no expectations. But 'Dhoom 2' came with a baggage of expectations. I expected it to start in the charts at No.1 and I expected the worst criticism ever this time, and I got both. But I was confident once people saw the visuals they'd take to the songs."

Answering charges of plagiarism, Pritam said: "Yes, there have been times when I've adapted from outside sources. Often I've been persuaded to so do by producers or directors. But I can't only blame others. I've also adapted songs on my own initiative. But the endeavour is to always make the adaptation different from and better than the original.

"I'm glad my music is under scrutiny. It means my music makes a difference. I work very hard on a so-called 'lift' to make it interesting. I add my own melody and sound to it. So the credit can't be taken entirely away from me. The origin of a tune is just a part of my job as a music director and an entertainer."

As for the Internet watchdogs, Pritam said: "They keep the creative process alive and progressive. As for my controversial hit songs, aren't they opening new avenues of business?"

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Life in a Metro