MUMBAI: In a recent session on actress Kiran Joneja’s ‘Insider Talk’ presented by Ramesh Sippy Entertainment and RSACE (Ramesh Sippy Academy of Cinema and Entertainment) Indian music producer, composer and arranger Rohit Kulkarni got candid about his career and his thoughts on music.
Rohit has curated music for some great films and worked alongside top names of the Indian music industry. He is extremely versatile as an artist and is experienced in working with different genres and sonic spaces in the industry. He has worked his magic into the music of many wonderful films such as Mary Kom, Wazir and Ramleela. Talking about how he happened to come to this industry and picked the career of a music composer, Rohit said, “I used to listen to music from a very young age. I didn’t ever think of taking music up as a career. I always say that music found me because it just happened to me. I was only fond of it and invested my time in listening to it. I did not have big plans in learning how to produce music or working in this field but its just happened to work out that way.”
RSACE mentors several enthusiasts of the entertainment industry. Young individuals and students often face a dilemma where they need to convince their parents about their career of choice and persuade them for the same. On being asked about whether he faced the same struggle, Rohit said, “My father was from the corporate world, my mom was an entrepreneur, so yes there were certain apprehensions in the beginning but they did go out of their way to support me. They were a little worried at first, my mother especially. The initial few months she used to keep wondering about what I would even do in a career like music and how would I go about it. So, I understand that parents would have that concern because they only want the best for us. But, its also important for them to recognise the potential their child has. A child truly needs the faith and confidence of parents to really flourish.”
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Music is art and thus involves many flavours and perspectives. Adding to this, Rohit said, “My friends used to listen to AC DC, Metallica, Madonna. My parents listened to Pandit Jasraj or ABBA sometimes, I was into classical music, since I played the piano. So I used to listen to all different kinds of music growing up.” Talking about two different industries which have different styles and approaches, that is, bollywood and the southern film industry in India, Kiran Joneja asked Rohit about how different these two are since he has worked in both. “The genre of music is at times slightly different but otherwise working in both, it’s pretty much the same. Bruce Lee says “be like water” and I truly love that philosophy. So when a director approaches me, I have to look at the project from his or her perspective. I handle music, he is the one who has the story, so I have to adapt my music , fit it into his vision.”
RSACE has scheduled all of their classes online and have been carrying out all activities and engagements virtually. This has been a challenge for many other organisations and institutions like RSACE that require practical intervention. Kiran Joneja highlighted upon how even live concerts these days are happening virtually. “Technology has really taken over and we have started largely depending on it. All our students attend classes online at RSACE. Apart from that every other industry which was based on events and activities on ground have either taken a huge break or have altered themselves to be placed online.” She also went on to initiate a discussion on how the ‘new normal’ and virtual lifestyle brought to us by the pandemic might change things in the long run for the live events scenario, especially live music as traditional live musicians are already very few in number these days. Adding to this point, Rohit said, “I’m not a slave to technology. For me it’s just a tool. I study my softwares very deeply to understand how I can enhance my work. But the value that a live performance brings, the harmony, the vibration it creates is priceless. As a composer, I work with live musicians. I don’t think they will ever go out of the picture because the value a live musician brings at a live performance is irreplaceable. “
