Mix-n-match

the nach are composed for the film. Gurinder is successful in her music because she is very specific. She wanted peppy,upbeat songs complementing the comedy. Do the nach is a mainstream,fun-loving song that we might release as a single,while Crazy is a contemporary dance track. Gurinder and I go back 20 years in our friendship and are mutual fans.

Which is easy,making a song for a film or for an album?
Making a song for a film that has to be set in a situation is obviously more difficult. In albums,God creates the situation.

You have composed a song for Tum Bin and also sung It’s magic for Koi…Mil Gaya. Did you enjoy doing them?
Of course I did. But films are not my priority,though I would love to do more music in India. So I am even doing an album there.

Tell us more about this album.
It’s releasing around mid-May on Universal Music and I hope that Indians like it. It’s called Twist & Shout and I am very excited as it had a song inspired by a track that John Lennon did,and there is another song of Isly Brothers for which they have given permission to do a Bollywood Mix. The Isly Brothers have never given anyone the rights to re-do this song.

BALLY SAGOO
Staying alive

Can you describe how you have ‘desified’ a cult track like Staying alive?
Gurinder told me that the track will be used in the end-credits and that I had to make it a fun song. I still treasure my original vinyl of Saturday Night Fever, which I bought in 1977 from HMV in Birmingham…it played an important part in why I started to DJ: I knew I was going to be a DJ early in my life thanks to music like Saturday night fever,which influenced me so much. I had to keep referring back to the original whilst making my version.

What was the challenge in re-creating a track like this?
I knew the most difficult thing I faced with was not just doing justice to this classic but finding someone who could sing as close to the originals as possible. I auditioned so many local guys but no one really could hit the notes,or just didn’t sound like the Bee Gees to me. Finally my wife Sita got hold of a contact and we approached Staying Alive UK,three boys who go around the world singing Bee Gees songs on stage for a living. So I got them to come down to my studios and drop the vocals to my beats – they were awesome and sounded so much like the originals. The vocals took some time as there were so many harmonies and overlaying and the final mix took me about eight weeks. The next step was to get a tumbi player,for which I went to Ludhiana to record. The dhols and Indian drum percussion was dubbed in my studios in the UK. I’ve used loads of hoye hoyes,hadippas,dhols and dance beats,keeping the feel of the original with newly-played live guitars and bass.
I had done numerous Bee Gees bootleg mixes in my early schooldays,so now I had the chance to do it properly and so knew it was something right down my street! I’m sure that this version has all the ingredients for a mainstream top 40. My little girl loves this song and knows all the words after hearing it night and day,so let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope that we get the same reaction from the public.

Are the Bee Gees fine with your version?
Permissions were taken to re-create the song. I am not sure what the Bee Gees will think of my version,but would love to know their views!

You composed for Gurinder’s Bend It Like Beckham and Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding. But so many of your songs are remixes and versions,so why do you not compose more original songs?
I have done over 40 albums of which more than half are original songs. I am a composer and a DJ also. So most of the biggest tracks that took me into the mainstream were my original compositions,like Dil cheez,Tum bin jiya,Aaja nachle and Botla sharab.

We have not heard you in Hindi films after Kartoos and Hera Pheri. Is there any specific reason?
I get many offers to do one-off songs in Hindi films. I am more interested in composing the entire movie. I did compose all the songs in my debut Punjabi film Sajana Ve Sajana. Top playback singers sang them.

ANKUR TEWARI
Haaye mar jaava

What is your track all about?
Producer Sajjad of Studio 18 wanted a fun,funky track that represented the film. This is the end-credits song for the Hindi version,where Staying alive comes in the international version. Haaye Mar Jaava is also the tentative title of the Hindi version of the film. I have co-composed the song with Mikey McLeary.

You normally offer the complete package – as lyricist,composer and singer. This time you chose Vishal Dadlani as singer. Why was that?
I wanted a voice that was classically-untrained and neither fully Indian nor Western,and after choosing Vishal for this reason,I kept wondering till the end whether I was doing the right thing or not. I asked Vishal to give me options on how he would sing it. I liked one of them.

Did he offer inputs,since he is a composer himself?
After offering the options,in the studio,Vishal went crazy,as was needed,and did a fantastic job! I always leave a door open for an artiste even if he has to follow my vision. But Vishal went beyond my brief and expectations and I just love what he has done! The bonus was also that he has a great studio and recording engineer and I was able to dub his voice there.