Amitabh S Verma whose known for his lyrics in hit films like Life In A Metro, Bas Ek Pal, PK, Khoobsurat, Ugli aur Pagli, Dhol, Fatso, and Antardwand has now turned into a director, composer and singer for his latest contribution to Teen Do Paanch. His debut film Teen Do Paanch, which released last week on Disney+Hotstar, revolves around a couple's story on how their life changes post-adoption of three kids. The OTT release stars Shreyas Talpade and Bidita Bag in lead roles.

Here Verma narrates his experience of working for this project.

Excerpts:

Can you tell us about your recent project Teen Do Paanch (TDP) as a director, composer and singer?

TDP is a very important project for me. This is like my show reel. I have not only written the screenplay, songs and directed it but also made my debut as a music composer and singer. 

How was your experience working on it? 

This is adapted from a story which was written a long time back by my wife Shruti Anindita Vermaa. We made some changes in the story, added some elements and wrote the script. It was wonderful to make it because I got to work with some very good actors like Shreyas Talpade,Bidita Bag, Akhilendra Mishra, Sheeba Chadda, Brijendra Kala, Lovleen Mishra to name a few. Even the younger lot of actors like Akash Deep Arora and Shantanu Anam were brilliant.  The most interesting and challenging part was working with three little and wonderful kids Shanaya, Ransh and Rananjay. The advantage of having good actors is that they add so much value to the scene with their improvisations that it takes the scene to a different level.  

I have always been a music person and can’t think of any story without music and songs. There were three song situations in the story and I had a young composer Adrijo composing the title track Teen Do Paanch  for me. When the track was made, the singer who came to my mind was the great Kishore Kumar, who I have been a big fan of. And the closest we could get to him was who else but Amit Kumar. I feel very lucky that he agreed to sing for TDP and the result is mind blowing. There were two other songs. I was somehow not feeling happy with the melody that I was getting for it and thus decided to compose it myself. The song Khamishiyan sung by the talented Palak Muchhal was born. Everyone liked the song very much and I got encouraged to compose for the third situation too. The song Jaane Kyun Hua was co composed by Kamlesh Shaamaniya and me. It was a duet song and both Kamlesh ji and I thought of Rekha Bharadwaj. We were lucky that Rekha ji liked the song and agreed to sing. I stepped in as the male voice for the song. I feel great to have sung my debut song with my favorite singer. 

All three songs have turned out great and everyone is loving them. I am very proud of the music of TDP.

What are some memorable memories that you made while working for this project?

There are so many memories of TDP that I will always cherish. We were shooting in a big housing society in Noida and the whole unit was staying there. It was a ritual that after the shoot every day, I would take the three kids for an ice cream treat. Many times even after their scenes were over, they would wait for me to take them for ice cream. Also I can never forget the cooperation my actors extended. We had a very tight schedule and shot for 12 hours a day. We were often  running against time. I remember we were shooting the car sequence on the road and needed Shreyas and Bidita to change their costumes. So to save time both of them agreed to change their costumes in the car to save time. TDP couldn’t have been made if they had not supported me so much. I would definitely want to work with them again. 

Upcoming plans and projects?

There are many things lined up for the future. On the music front I released my first single ‘Awalla’ last year which did very well. I am giving finishing touches to my next single which I plan to release soon. Apart from this I am also writing songs for other artists for Eros Music.  There are a couple of scripts that I am working on. One of them is going to be directed by Shruti, my wife. We have also finished a travel show for kids which is going to be out soon. 

I have also finished my own script for which I am doing the casting. 

What is your focus going to be this year?

Looking forward to all these projects soon which I am doing in various capacities.