I don't work without contracts: Prabuddha

Composer Prabuddha Banerjee talks to TOI about why he walked out of 033, what���������s exciting about the music of Ekti Tarar Khonje and how he has earned the reputation of being a foul-mouthed person in the industry
After 18 years of corporate life, you���������ve shifted gears to become an engineer-turned-music composer of Tollywood. How satisfying is it?
Pesha ar nesha ek hoye gechhe amar.I���������ve been around in the music industry for seven years and many in my fraternity say that I���������ve done more TV commercial music than many others who have been around for a longer period of time in this profession. I���������ve just done three films ��������� Bhalo Theko, Via Darjeeling and now, Ekti Tarar Khonje. Honestly speaking, I don���������t get a lot of creative satisfaction with 99 per cent of the jingles that I do. I know I have to do them to pay my bills. But that���������s about it all. I have no strategy in life and I am constantly running to stay where I am. I am a rudderless ship and my immediate agenda is to ensure how I can tide over the next two/three waves.
Considering that you claim that 99 per cent of your jingles aren���������t that creatively satisfying, where do you get your fodder?
I���������ve an idea of the amount of money that I want to earn in a month. If I manage to freelance and earn it in the first week of a month, I am happy doing no work later on. Being in a creative profession, I believe that one has to be in a position to freak out without any monetary compulsions. That alone will ensure the freshness in one���������s works. Today when people talk about a freshness in the songs of ETK, I know where it has all come from. It���������s my passion to watch international movies. I listen to a lot of music. And whenever my friends are free, they come over to my place and we just do music. That freedom to indulge myself reflects in my music too.
When you talk music, you refer to the background score of Godfather and Apocalypse Now. If that���������s the kind of work that you like listening to and want to do, where is the space for it in Tollywood? Doesn���������t the Tollywood canvas seem inadequate for you?
I���������m an optimistic person. The days are changing. Look at a film like Raajneeti. Despite the film having five songs, the credit for music has gone to Wayne Sharpe. He has done the background score of the film too. The five composers have composed five numbers, parts of which have been used in the film. This is a definite shift in terms of the way Indian cinema makers are viewing the use of music.
Earlier on, films would stagnate when a song was being aired. Today, our films are slowly using songs in a way that are part of the fabric of the film. We���������ve tried to do the same thing with ETK. None of the songs exist in the film in isolation. The background score of ETK is also well thought out. There have been certain portions where Avik (Mukhopadhyay) had asked me to do the background score in advance, so that they can serve as an inspiration for me. From esraj and Armenian wind instruments to Greek and Turkish percussions, I���������ve used everything.
That kind of work has been creatively satisfying. Though I am not the kind of a person who networks a lot, I also believe that I don���������t need to necessarily look at work in Kolkata to creatively satisfy me. Couple of years ago, I did the background score for a film commissioned by an international film manufacturer to Avik. The music budget of this 8.5 minute-long film was close to the amount spent for a moderately- budgeted Bengali movie. The company shows this film to directors, producers and cinematographers of international repute to promote its brand. If I can do such work sitting in Kolkata, why do I need to just limit myself to Tollywood?
While you���������ve worked with Shaan before, why did you opt for recording with Shreya Ghoshal now for ETK instead of Sunidhi Chauhan and Chitra with whom you���������ve worked with zin VD?
Sunidhi and Chitra don���������t speak Bengali. For me, that���������s a big issue while choosing a singer. Earlier, Shreya was more suitable for sweet and syrupy kind of songs. With Ghajini and 3 Idiots, Shreya has become a lot more versatile. Pagol mon re has a lot of jazz movements and I thought Shreya has developed the skills to do justice to this kind of a complicated movement in the number.
You���������ve walked out of 033 even though you were supposed to do the background score and sound design for the movie. Was that the reason why you now don���������t want to take up any projects where you aren���������t allowed to compose the songs and do the background score?
This decision was taken long before 033. Songs and the background score are an integrated unit. I like to use a lot of song elements in the background score. That gives a homogeneity to the film. I had agreed to do 033 and I know I would be working with Chandrabindoo during the execution of the songs. I loved doing that too. The additional challenge was that I would do the background score and the sound design. But finally, the logistics didn���������t permit that. I moved out of the project because I was becoming a bottleneck. But this experience has nothing to do with my decision to compose songs and do the background simultaneously.
The kind of music that you have done for ETK is very different from the sound that one usually associates with commercial Bengali films. How difficult is it to be heard when you want to do this kind of music here?
One thing I am always clear about is that I must know what I can���������t do more than what I can. I know I can���������t compose a song like Poran Jaye Jolia Re. But I know I can compose a number like Dure dure that sounds so different from what Jeet (Gannguli)���������s music. I admit that it���������s very difficult to be heard when one is doing something different. Thanks to Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, he never interfered with what I was doing. Unlike other producers, I never had anyone asking me to do music that will be a hit. That freedom worked to my advantage. In today���������s times, a product has to be good and then, it has to be marketed well to reach to the audience, which then may or may not like it. The primary onus of not taking the path of least resistance lies with the composer.
A producer/director might say that he wants his composer to do a certain kind of music that���������s being lapped up by the masses. It���������s the producer���������s hard-earned money and he has every right to say what he wants. The composer then has three options. He can either accept or reject this offer. In my opinion, these two are very easy options. The third is the most difficult one. The composer needs to then go by what the producer is saying and also create a stand-by option and try to convince the producer that the option given by him might work. It���������s the responsibility of the composer to come up with an alternative that appeals to the producer���������s basic human sensibilities.
You hardly ever say no to ads but you���������ve refused films. Why this qualitative demarcation?
My prime source of creative satisfaction can come from films and not ads. For ads, the product is the hero and that has to be a glorified. For movies, it���������s different.
You often claim that you have a reputation of being ���������otontyo durmukh manush���������. Do you get a kick out of saying so?
No. It���������s true that I lose my temper quickly. I don���������t like to indulge IN any unethical practices. I protest if there is any delayed payment. Barring a few, I don���������t like to work without a contract. Having come from a corporate background, I have been shocked with how disorganized our film and television industry is.
It���������s so common for people not to pay on time. And artistes also accept such behaviour. I feel they do such things because somewhere they are very insecure. They feel if they ask for contracts, their job will be at stake. But they fail to understand that such behaviour only aids in unprofessionalism in the industry. Today, I do notice a change and I often get calls from my peers asking me to formulate contracts for them. That���������s a welcome change.
Avik is reserved and you are volatile. How do you gel so well?
Unlike poles attract. As far as the work is concerned, our aesthetics match. Avik is very sensitive. His technical expertise and experience help. Not only do we gel well professionally, we are great friends too.
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