I have heard many fascinating tales about Bhopal: Amit Trivedi

From his hotel room’s verandah, Amit Trivedi takes in the 22 kilometer-long Upper Lake stretch. “It’s an overwhelming sight,” he remarks, before continuing, “I have always heard good things about Bhopal, especially from my friend Shefali Alvares, who lives in a palace here, and always tells us fascinating tales about the city.”
Munching on a plate of the city’s famous poha-jalebis, he settles down for a chat with us about all things Bollywood and music.Excerpts:
‘UNLIKE BOLLYWOOD, THE SOUTH DOESN’T SHY AWAY FROM NON-COMMERCIAL MUSIC’
The music director, who was in town to perform on the 64th Foundation Day of Madhya Pradesh, starts by describing his creative process – or lack thereof. “There is no process. It’s just the way I am. Every talent has certain limits, and not everyone can do everything. I have my own limits too,” he says.
Having given Bollywood songs ranging from Love You Zindagi to Laila Laila and Naina Da Kya Kasoor, he says that he doesn’t have any favourites. “Everything is a part of music, and creativity, and thus, everything is mazedaar. There is no single song which I can term as my favourite. All my songs are close to my heart. I can’t say ek achha hai, ek bura hai, I am proud of each and every piece of music that I have created so far in my life and I love all of them.”
However, Amit feels that the South film industry is more open to original music than Bollywood.
“I am doing my third or fourth film in the South industry and I enjoy working with them. I have done Queen and Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy and I am working on a couple of other projects too. They are not only open to original music, but to experimentation and ideas too. They don’t understand the idea of recreation or remix, but only work on original music. They don’t shy away from anything that is ‘not commercial’.”
In Bollywood, the constant remixing of old tunes has attracted the ire of various music directors including composer Vishal Dadlani, who in a tweet, threatened to sue anyone who attempted to remake his old music. Amit comments on the same – “I myself have never liked the idea of remixes. I am not sure why Vishal tweeted this, but I am sure about one thing – that there must be some reason behind it. He has a short temper, but I will speak with him to know what went wrong exactly, for him to take this step.”
Amit has also created music for Hollywood films, including 2011’s British-Swedish-Indian drama Trishna and 2018’s French adventure comedy The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir. Calling it an ‘amazing and beautiful experience’, he says, “They are really professional people to work with and they have really strong work ethics. They meticulously plan every detail. The shoots too are planned ten days in advance. This is something Bollywood should learn from, because at this point, we are far, far away from that.”
‘I THRIVE ON PEOPLE’S ACCEPTANCE FOR MY WORK’
When asked whether he feels the current commercial trends impact his creativity as a musician, Amit replies, “I am here to do commercial music only. I am not doing anything for myself. It’s for the world out there. The non-commercial music I make for myself and listen to at home. But the definition of commercial is different in people’s minds. My every music is commercial and it’s accessible to everybody and anybody. The perspective with which you listen to is different for everyone.”
This is also the reason why he’s always grateful to receive an award, but it’s the audience feedback that means more.
“Whenever anybody wins any award on this planet, I can bet on it they feel overwhelmed. It’s an encouraging feeling. For me it’s not ‘a do or die’ thing. Mila toh happy hoon, nahi mila toh bhi happy hoon.Awards are not the end road for me. What’s key for me is the reaction and feedback of the audience for whom I work. I am not doing this work for my drawing room, but for the people. I thrive on the passionate acceptance for my work, and if a larger number of audiences do that, then that is my biggest win.”
Though he once thought himself to be an ‘average singer’, today he is actively performing at concerts across the country. What’s changed? “I will not say that the tables have turned, because I am very much a studio guy till today. I enjoy being in the studio more than being on stage. But I am enjoying the live bit too, because the energy is completely different from the studio. My thing is, that I like moving forward and I like to see forward. The only drawback is that when I am in the studio, I am only looking forward and creating something new and fresh for the future, but when I am on stage; I am dealing with my past. That is the only disconnect which I don’t like,” says Amit.