Kshitij Tarey started singing at the age of three while listening to songs being played on radio. Born in Ujjain, Kshitij grew up in Kota, a city in Rajasthan known for its coaching centres and serving as the hub for IIT aspirants. Kshitij received his first formal lessons in music from Mahesh Chand Sharma, a music teacher based in Kota. In the year 2002, Kshitij moved to Mumbai to build a career in music.
After singing several popular songs for films over the years, including ‘Javeda Zindagi – Tose Naina Lagey’ (‘Anwar’), ‘Aye Khuda’ (‘Murder 2’), ‘Madno’ (‘Lamhaa’) and ‘Bhijun Gela Wara’ (‘Irada Pakka’). Kshitij Tarey is now working towards carving out an identity for himself as a music director. Kshitij made his debut as a composer with the Naseeruddin Shah – Randeep Hooda starrer ‘John Day’ (2012).
In the last few years, he has composed for a variety of projects including the Radhika Apte starrer ‘Mrs. Undercover’ (2023) His most recent endeavor as a composer is ‘Ab Hoga Hisaab’, a series which is streaming on Amazon MX Player. The show, which features Shaheer Sheikh, Sanjay Kapoor and Mouni Roy in the lead roles, has both songs and the background score composed by Kshitij.
In this interview, Kshitij talks about doing the score and songs for the Amazon MX Player show, branching out as a composer, collaborating with Mithoon, admiration for Sayeed Quadri, fusion project with Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Ruslan Sirota,stories behind some of his popular songs and more.
‘Ab Hoga Hisaab’ is your most recent work as a composer. How was the experience of working on this project?
It was a wonderful experience! I got the chance to work with a wonderful team. I did the background score and the songs. One of the songs, ‘Saaiyaan Ve’, has been sung by Shaan.
In the Hindi film and web space, very few composers get the opportunity to do both the songs and the background score on a project.
Yes! I feel privileged to have been given the opportunity to do the songs and the score on many projects, including ‘Ab Hoga Hisaab’. Both the processes are equally enjoyable. When you get the scenes, there are so many different directions you can go in as a composer. When I got the brief for the songs for this series, I requested them to send me the shots where the song would be used. I saw the visuals and that inspired me to create the songs.
For the longest time, one knew you as a singer. When did you first think of becoming a composer?
When I shifted from Kota to Mumbai, the goal was to become a composer. After coming to Mumbai, I started meeting people for work. After I met Mithoon, he gave me the chance to sing ‘Javeda Zindagi’ (‘Anwar’, 2007). That was my first song as a singer. I always wanted to become a composer. Towards the end of 2011, I decided to expand my horizon and started looking for opportunities as a composer. ‘John Day’ was my first film as a music director.
Your father had an educational institute in Kota. You belong to a family of academicians and are the first individual from the family to pursue a career in music. Did you receive adequate support from your family members when you decided to follow this path?
My parents have always been supportive. I started learning music when I was just four years of age. When I was five years old, I did my first stage performance. My parents took me to Mahesh ji when I was four years of age. Since they were in the field of education, they could gauge the aptitude of children. When they realized I had an inclination towards music, they supported me completely.
You came to Mumbai in 2002. You met lyricist Sayeed Quadri who, in a way, became a godfather to you.
I met Sayeed ji in 2003. He had come to attend one of my ghazal shows in Kota. He told me to come to Mumbai and meet him. I had already moved to Mumbai by then. I told him that as soon as I get back to Mumbai, I will reach out to him. Sayeed ji helped me meet many music composers, directors and producers. Because of him, I got to meet Mithoon and got my first song, ‘Javeda Zindagi’. Sayeed ji has been my biggest strength in the industry.
You worked in the advertising industry for quite a long time and lent your voice to several popular jingles for different brands. How was your experience of working in this industry?
Many singers get into the advertising space, sing jingles and then, get into Bollywood. What happened with me was quite the opposite. ‘Tose Naina Laagey’ (‘Javeda Zindagi’) came out and then, I started meeting people in the advertising industry. I got the opportunity to sing many jingles which became very popular. Working in the advertising industry was a very wonderful experience. The working culture in the advertising industry was very different from that of Bollywood. The advertising industry is much more structured.
What are some of your memories of recording ‘Javeda Zindagi’?
Before ‘Javeda Zindagi’, I had sung a lot of demos for Mithoon. One day, he called me around 9 or 10 p.m. He asked me to come to the studio for a recording. I thought I would be singing yet another scratch for him. I recorded the song in an hour. Director Manish Jha was also in the studio. He loved my voice and decided to retain my voice for the song.
‘Madno’ from ‘Lamhaa’ is another beautiful song you sang for Mithoon.
‘Madno’ is very close to my heart and there is a very special reason behind it. It was the first time I got the chance to sing a song written by Sayeed ji. He wrote some beautiful lyrics for the song.
After that, you sang a few more songs for Mithoon. How was the experience of working with him?
As I mentioned earlier, Sayeed ji had made me meet Mithoon. At that point, Mithoon was also starting his career. I started singing demos for him. He is a wonderful person and a genius composer.
‘Maine Khud Ko’ from ‘Ragini MMS Returns’ has been one of your underrated songs.
It is one of my most favourite songs. Pranaay, who composed this song, is a dear friend of mine. He created a soulful composition.
In the year 2011, you released your debut album ‘Ae Dosheeza’. Most of the songs were composed by Gaurav Dagaonkar and written by Sayeed Quadri. Interestingly, the music video of ‘O Meri Jaane Jaan’, one of the songs from the album, was directed by Arunabh Kumar from TVF.
That’s right! It was one of the first projects which Arunabh worked on independently. I wanted ‘O Meri Jaane Jaan’ to be shot differently from regular music videos. We met few people for the music video. Finally, when we met Arunabh, things fell into place. Arunabh came up with this wonderful idea. When he shared the idea with me, I fell in love with it instantly. However, I wondered if it would be executed properly. Arunabh did a brilliant job with the video. He shot it in a very creative manner.
The album was released by Times Music. Was it easy to get a music label on board for your debut album?
I have had a long standing association with Times Music. Since 2005, I was doing albums, devotional songs and other work with them. Once we made the songs, I immediately thought of Times Music because of my association with them. I met them, made them listen to the songs and showed them the video which Arunabh had made. Many people helped us on this project. Salim-Sulaiman supported me by attending the launch.
Recently, you collaborated with Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Ruslan Sirota on a fusion project.
One of my biggest dreams was to do a fusion project. This project is called ‘Classical Crossover by Kshitij Tarey’. The compositions are Indian classical and the arrangements are western. While making these tracks, we ensure the two genres do not lose their essence. We presented ‘Ka Karun Sajni’ as a thumri jazz track. I remember creating it ay house in Kota during the Covid-19 lockdown. I had been following Ruslan sir’s work for a very long time. I messaged him on Instagram and told him that I have made a track and I would be grateful if you could listen to it. He heard it, loved it and agreed to collaborate with me. I did a lori (lullaby) with Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt ji. With him also, the process was similar. I shared the track with him and he loved it. When you work with great artists, you get to learn a lot. The project is still going on. We will keep releasing many more songs as a part of this project.
You have sung for several Marathi films as well. ‘Bhijun Gela Wara’ (‘Irada Pakka’) is one of my favourite songs sung by you in Marathi.
It is also one of my favourite songs. I have the sweetest memory attached to this song. My mother loves watching Marathi films and serials. For a very long time, I was only getting to sing Hindi songs. She had this wish to hear my voice in a Marathi song. So, when ‘Bhijun Gela Wara’ came out, she was very happy.
You have stated in an interview that you get more creative satisfaction as a composer than a singer. Do you identify yourself more as a composer now?
I love doing both the things. Composing, as a process, is more creatively satisfying as you are creating something out of nowhere. I am enjoying my journey as a composer. However, I am still in love with singing and enjoy performing on the stage.
What are you doing next?
I have worked on another web series as a composer. It will come out in the next few months.