There is a distinctive touch of Assam, the land which he comes from, in Joi Barua’s music. And the musician takes a lot of pride in that. Joi has been around for a decade and has composed the jingle for some of the most popular television commercials. He tours extensively with his band and present Assamese music in a modern and contemporary form to his audience. His songs from the recently released Hindi film ‘Laila Majnu’ has struck a chord with the audience, with one of the songs ‘O Meri Laila’ turning out to be hugely popular. Here is an excerpt from an interview.
The four songs you have composed for ‘Laila Majnu’ have a strong flavour of Kashmiri music in them. Did you have to do some research on Kashmiri folk music before composing for the film?
I went to Kashmir for the first time for this film. I listened to a lot of Kashmir music which Sajid had sourced out for me for reference. First time impressions are very strong. I observed everything very keenly in Kashmir and that played a huge role in the way the music of the film shaped up. I wanted to get an idea about the personality of the people and the milieu. People are shaped up by geography, culture and food. Meeting people, listening to Kashmiri music and visiting the place, all these experiences helped me create the music for the film.
The soundtrack can be divided into two halves. The one half consists of semi-classical songs composed by Niladri Kumar and the other half comprises of your tracks which have an interesting mix of rock and Kashmiri music. Can you take us through the process of creating these songs?
The songs that I composed for the film were driven by what the story demanded. “Lala Zula Zalio” is a traditional Kashmiri wedding song. There is a particular way in which the song is sung. I wanted the song to have a more celebratory feel to it. What you get to hear in the film is a contemporary, modernised version of the folk song. The film opens with “Gayee Kaam Se” which also introduces the character of Laila. You see men in the town being besotted by her beauty and chasing her. The song has a hectic pace to it and has a lot of instrumentation involved. It was great collaborating with Atif (Aslam) on “O Meri Laila”. He was travelling when we approached him for the song. He recorded his part in a studio abroad and sent it to us. One thing I have always liked about Atif, Shafqat and other Pakistani artistes is that they have grown up listening to a wide variety of music and not just film songs. Because of this, they bring their own personality in their songs.
This is your second collaboration with Sajid Ali after ‘Banana’, his first film which has not released till date. Can you share something about the music of that film?
‘Banana’ is about a bunch of high school students in Jamshedpur. I would not be able to talk much about it as it has not released but the music is very different from the kind we made for ‘Laila Majnu’. It is an out-and-out rock music based soundtrack. It was a great experience working on that film as well.
You are very selective about film projects. In the past, you have composed the music for films like ‘Margarita With A Straw’ and have lent your voice to songs in films like ‘Udaan’, ‘Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge’ and ‘Agent Vinod’. Are you the kind of composer who keeps a bank of songs ready with him?
I have never thought about creating a bank of songs. I can compose a song very quickly but I do a lot of other things apart from film music, so that keeps me busy. I like to create music for a story or a situation. The point is that you are trying to tell a story with the director guiding the director. The music should work for the film. It should work for the story, serve the purpose of the film and be in accordance with the director’s vision. When I create music for myself, it would be in tune with my sensibilities but when I am doing the music for a film, it should be able to do justice to the story. As an artiste, I would definitely like my music to reach out to a large number of people. For me, that is the definition of commercial music. ‘The Beatles, ‘R D Burman’ created timeless music which is popular till date. For me, that is commercial music. At the end of the day, it is a business and it is important for a film and music to work.
Your band ‘Joi’ is known for presenting Assamese music in a contemporary form. Was it a conscious decision to do something that would make people more aware about the music that comes out from the land of Assam?
My sensibilities as a musician come from Assam. I do not want to give it up. I am here in Bollywood because my directors heard my Assamese music and approached me for their films. Assam gave me an identity as a musician and I will be forever grateful to it for the same. I am proud to be playing a part in taking Assamese music across the country.
Do you believe in the trend of having multiple composers in a film?
A producer will look for the best way to promote his film. It is left to them to make these decisions. People take decisions with the right intent. Mostly those decisions are right and sometimes, they do not work. It is a very tough game. People invest a lot of money in a film and the least they expect is for that money to come back to them.
Everything is going digital now. People are not buying CDs anymore and prefer to listen to music mostly on the internet. How do you look at this trend?
Music should be listened to in its highest possible quality. These days, people are making mp3 files of 3 or 4 MB and putting it on the internet. Things are not that bad with films. You can still watch a film like ‘The Dark Knight’ in IMAX. I wish the musician community should fight for their rights. Technology is a great thing but one must use it wisely so that it takes us forward in the right direction.
You are doing the music for a big commercial Telugu film. It is again a new space for you to work in.
Yes, I feel fortunate to be working with a very good director. The makers have given me a lot of freedom. It is a commercial film but then, your sensibilities as a musician does not change with a project. When you listen to the music of the film, you can figure out that it is a reflection of my style of music.
What else are you working on at the moment?
I am working on an independent album and creating a few songs for myself. I am working on a project with folk musicians from Rajasthan. I just want a good director who has a story who believes in it. You need to believe in your story for people to believe in it. I love all kinds of movies.