Apart from their similar names, what is common between Rohan Pradhan and Rohan Gokhale is their love for music. They are two of the biggest names in the Marathi music industry and have made their presence felt in the Hindi film industry with their songs from ‘Sanju’. In this exclusive interview, the two composers talk about their journey in the music industry, Bollywood comeback with ‘Sanju’, getting Priyanka Chopra to sing for them, the difference between working in the Marathi film industry and the Hindi film industry and more.
You were working separately before you paired up.
Rohan Gokhale: Yes, that is right. It was a Nickelodeon show which brought us together. Rohan (Pradhan) had earlier worked on films but I had just left my job in an IT company and got into the industry dreaming of becoming a composer (laughs). We were neighbours in Parel and used to jam together. One day, it just struck us that it would be a good idea to work as a team since we were in the same field. We mostly worked on animation shows and ads and then, films happened.
Since both of you have the same name, people must often be getting confused between the two of you. Does that bother you?
Rohan Pradhan: Not at all! You are getting two Rohans in a package (laughs). At times, people do get confused and they feel that probably there is a typographical error there but we are fine with this.
Rohan Gokhale: We have never felt insecure. If you talk about a band like Coldplay, a lot of people would not know the names of all the members in the band but they can identify with the band and the kind of music they make. Similarly, we are happy to be known as an entity rather than individuals.
Do you have formal training in music?
Rohan Gokhale: I have not had any formal training in music. I am primarily a self-taught musician. I am from Nagpur where you do not get a lot of exposure. People also do not take you seriously when you say that you want to become a music composer. I mostly learnt from the internet.
Rohan Pradhan: I have learnt jazz, western classical and blues. I trained a bit in India classical when I was a child.
Rohan (Gokhale), you have also written the lyrics for a couple of your songs.
Rohan Gokhale: Yes, I like writing. Nobody can teach you how to write. Sometimes, words come to my mind while composing a tune and I end up writing it.
Who have been your favourite composers?
Rohan Pradhan: There are many – Shankar-Jaikishan, S.D Burman, Jatin-Lalit.
Rohan Gokhale: We love listening to background scores by John Williams, Howard Shore, Hans Zimmer and others.
You made your debut in Hindi films in 2014 with ‘Mumbai Delhi Mumbai’, which was a remake of the Marathi film ‘Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai’. Why did it take so long to make a comeback to Bollywood with ‘Sanju’?
Rohan Pradhan: Yes, Mumbai Delhi Mumbai was our first Hindi film. Actually, Viacom18 had only approached us to do the background score for the film but while working on the score, we felt there was a big montage sequence which needed a song. So, we ended up doing a song for the film. But, after that we mostly focussed on doing Marathi films as we were getting the opportunity to work on the complete film, including the background score and not just one or two songs.
Do you consider the Marathi film ‘Ventilator’ to be a breakthrough in your career?
Rohan Pradhan: Absolutely! It is our biggest and dearest film to date. We got the opportunity to do all the songs and the background score. It was a wonderful team to work with. Rajesh Mapsurkar was directing it and it was Priyanka Chopra’s first Marathi production.
Rohan Gokhale: Priyanka even recorded a song for the film called ‘Baba’. Even though she did not know Marathi very well, she put in a lot of effort to get the accent and the diction right and the song came out very well.
Rajesh Mapsurkar has been an assistant with Rajkumar Hirani. Did he introduce the two of you to him?
Rohan Gokhale: No, we met Raju (Rajkumar Hirani) sir at MAMI where ‘Ventilator’ had its premiere. Raju sir loved the music of the film and asked Rajesh sir who has scored it. One day, we got a call at seven in the morning from Rajesh sir who said we have to meet Raju sir at 11 am. For the next ten seconds, we did not know how to react.
Rohan Pradhan: Being relatively new to the industry, we did not think we would get an opportunity to work with somebody like Raju sir at such an early stage of our career. He has made films that have made a huge impact on the society. Just getting to meet somebody like him was a huge honour.
Rajkumar Hirani’s films are not really known for their music. This time, a couple of songs actually managed to become hits before the film released. Did he tell you that he was looking for hit songs this time?
Rohan Pradhan: (laughs) No, he always wants the music to complement the narrative of the film. At times, such situational songs become instantly popular and there are times, when they take time to reach out to the audience.
Rohan Gokhale: At the end of the day, the music should work for the film. All his films have been successful and that has helped the music as well. We are happy that our songs ‘Main Badhiya Tu Badhiya’ and ‘Kar Har Maidan Fateh’ became popular as soon as they came out. I believe a successful product is the one which sells as a whole.
Rohan Pradhan: ‘Sanju’ was a biopic and there were many colour in it. We made a lot of songs for the film because the script was very elaborate. You can approach a situation in different ways.
Rohan Gokhale: Most of the tunes that we made were approved in the first go and that was a huge thing for us.
One of your songs ‘Bhopu Baj Raha Hai’ did not make it to the film. Did that disappoint you?
Rohan Pradhan: Yes, it did but I think being the director, Raju sir must have felt even worse about it. Having said that, you are trying to tell a story in a specific period of time and there are times, when you have to let go of a few elements to make sure that the film turns out to be crisp.
You also worked on ‘Bucket List’, which was presented by Dharma Productions. Did you get to meet Karan Johar while working on the film?
Rohan Gokhale: Dharma Productions came on board to present the film long after the film was shot and completed. We met Karan sir for the first time during the music launch.
Rohan Pradhan: Though we got to meet him only a few times during the promotions, it was great speaking to somebody like him who has such great sense in music. We would love to work on a film produced by his company.
Is there a difference between composing for a Hindi film and a Marathi film?
Rohan Gokhale: These days, a lot of Hindi films have multiple composers and each composer is just briefed about the situation and not given the script to read. On the other hand, when you are working on a Marathi film as a solo composer, you are aware of each and every detail about the film. We prefer to read the complete script before we start working on a film but even if the brief is explained to us properly, we are fine with that.
Ajay-Atul have contributed immensely to Marathi film music and have helped in making it reach out to people outside Maharashtra. Are you inspired by the kind of work they have done?
Rohan Pradhan: Yes, they are brilliant composers. They have created a very good platform for a lot of young composers like us to showcase our talent. The entire Marathi film industry acknowledges their contribution.
A lot of composers keep a bank of songs ready with them. Do you have a bank with you as well?
Rohan Gokhale: Sometimes we jam and a song is created. In that respect, we have a lot of songs ready with us but we never made a conscious effort to create a bank.
You have worked with singers like Sonu Nigam, Sadhana Sargam, Sunidhi Chauhan and Sukhwinder Singh, among others. Do you like to work with veterans?
Rohan Gokhale: It is a huge honour to work with veteran singers but we have also worked with relatively young singers like Nakash Aziz, Prajakta Shukre, Meenal Jain and several others.
Rohan Pradhan: We are lucky that singers like Sonu ji, Sadhana ji and the others have liked our composition and sung for us. We always look for the right voice. Sometimes a song suits the voice of a veteran singer and at times, it suits a newcomer.
Every other composer is a singer these days. Rohan (Pradhan), you have also sung a couple of songs yourself. What do you think about this trend?
Rohan Pradhan: I do not think there is anything wrong about it. It is all about how you want to take your art forward. There are many singers who are turning composers too.
What are you doing next?
Rohan Gokhale: We have a couple of interesting projects lined up which we will be announcing soon. We hope to be equally active in Marathi and Hindi cinema.