Alia Bhatt-starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi marks the Balhara duo Sanchit and Ankit’s third collaboration with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The director, they allude, romances characters more than the story, an aspect they bear in mind when composing the score.
Edited excerpts from the interview:
Can you take us through the kind of brief that Bhansali shares with you when bringing you on board a film?
Sanchit: This is our third film with him. We started working on it in 2019 after he decided to move from Inshallah to Gangubai Kathiawadi. He describes the character more than the story. He described her as someone who is helpless and struggles to [come to terms] with the situation she is in. As vegans, we had recently composed a piece for animals. It highlighted the helplessness they feel. We manipulated that, and adjusted it for this project. When we presented it to him, he loved it at the first go. That’s rare.
Ankit: This is our first [Bhansali] film based in modern historic India. Our previous films have been fictional, or period films. We had to strike a balance between real and cinematic fiction. We tried to bring western classical symphonic styles, and blend them with the cultural style of Kamathipura.
Sanchit: We wanted to reflect the chaos of Kamathipura, and in accordance with the way it was in that era. From that chaos, we wanted Gangubai’s voice to come out. We wanted her helplessness to become evident, and wanted that [sound] to become her signature tune.
Ankit: When Sanchit speaks of the chaos, [he also] implies that chaos within her — her struggles, and mental hustles. In addition to the environmental chaos, it was important to showcase the fight in her mind.
The duo credits Padmavaat actor Ranveer Singh for his versatility
At what point of the process do you get involved?
Sanchit: Sanjay sir prefers to have us on board before we shoot, and when he is in the process of writing it. We had three themes for Gangubai — one speaks of her struggles, the other reflects her love [story], and the third marks her overcoming her struggles. The challenge was to weave these threads together. Then there were other characters for which we employed themes like prominent claps or trumpets. It is the gift of a director that he can highlight a character in such detail that [we could create the appropriate tune]. Sanjay sir also shot the film so beautifully on our composition. Ultimately, it’s about marrying the score with the visuals.
Ankit: People say a good score creates an impact without being noticeable itself. Sanjay sir gives you such a precise direction that you need not be there with him to do [the score], which is how we worked in the pandemic.
You’re also composing for Ranveer Singh’s next, Jayeshbhai Jordaar, which has a completely different flavour. Do you have a preference?
Sanchit: We are huge fans of Ranveer. He is among the most versatile actors [of our time]. He blends easily into every character — when he plays Bajirao, you see the character, just as you see Khilji, or Jayeshbhai Jordaar. You never see his [personality] or ego in his characters. He becomes the part. That makes it easy for us to get involved in the story. He makes us feel what the character is feeling.
