MUMBAI: A virtual chat show by Ramesh Sippy Entertainment, which is hosted by Kiran Joneja, recently featured Lalit Pandit of the popular Indian Film Industry’s music duo Jatin-Lalit. Known for his work in classic movies like Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander, Mohabbatein, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Lalit Pandit opened up about his journey as a music director and composer in the Bollywood film fraternity.
Mr. Pandit began with acknowledging how much of a boon the internet has been during these times and how it has continued to provide artists a platform to showcase their art even while being at home, how shows like Insider Talk are allowing their voices to be reached out to a greater audience. When asked about Bin Tere Sanam which was his first composition and first release as a Music Composer, he mentioned that out of all the Jatin-Lalit songs that have been remixed this song has been remixed the most number of times.This song was a super hit and was remembered more than the film itself which is a great mark of success for any music composer. The success of this song paved the way for the musical duo to make their presence stronger in the Indian film and music industry.
Upon being asked about how a composer gets inspired to make a tune, Mr. Pandit said, “Experimentation, listening and practice are really important things. During my first song itself, I was young, I was in college. I used to play a lot of different musical instruments, like the piano, the guitar. I was very keen on the different sounds and tones it could produce and I kept practising and experimenting. And the song was made during this time so we barely expected it to become such a huge hit. So I guess, it’s just about being passionate, practising and experimenting until you get it right one day.” He went on to add, “I was travelling in an auto back from college one day and I heard my song playing in the same auto, on the radio for the first time. And I can’t express how wonderful that moment was for me. I was so excited to tell someone about it but there was nobody there at that moment except the auto driver. I ended up enthusiastically telling him – ‘bhaiyya, yeh mera gaana hai’.”
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While speaking about remakes and remixes, Kiran Joneja asked Mr. Pandit about how he feels as a music composer when he listens to a differently rendered remake of his own song. “To be very honest, it is rare for a composer to like a lot of the remakes that are made of their original songs. However, some of them are very tastefully done. I really love Javed Ali’s version of Bin Tere Sanam, I think it was very beautifully covered.”
Lalit Pandit spoke about how consistency is an extremely important factor to make it big in the industry. Having a burning passion for what you do is equally as important as being dedicated towards it. Mr. Pandit stressed on how commitment towards your art can go a long way. “We used to be extremely passionate and sincere about our work. We did not have it easy. A big film would be very particular about its music and for our compositions to make the cut, we also had to be consistently good and upto the mark.” He said.
Speaking about one of his hit Bollywood numbers – ‘Munni Badnaam Hui’, he said, “When I made Arbaaz and team listen to this song, they absolutely loved it. The film did not really have room for this song initially, but Salman and Arbaaz loved the song so much that they chose to incorporate it by replacing a whole action sequence and it did wonderfully for the film.”
Mr. Pandit spoke about his contribution to his family’s musical capacity, “My main motto was to elevate my family’s music, I wanted to see us do better as a team. As a duo, the music Jatin and I created was always ahead of its time. I was extremely keen on technicalities and I always tried to experiment and improvise while recording the songs. Jatin was great with his romantic style and I was great with my Indian and contemporary styles and modern production technique. This is why we made a great duo.” Adding to this he also said, “Music Direction as a profession is not a simple art. You need to reach out to the audience. Technicalities are important, yes but more than that it is about the emotions a song carries. Songs by Kishore Kumar and Lata ji at times were not recorded well, there was no proper set up. But these songs are evergreen because they were soulful, they were heartwarming.”
Mr. Pandit also did a short live performance along with his two sons during the session. He mentioned that even during the lockdown, they sit together every evening as a family and sing a few songs together just to keep the spirit alive at home. Music is surely food for the soul.
