MUMBAI: If you trace his decade old history, some of the best tracks in Bollywood have probably come from his films. Whether it was 'Woh Lamhe' from 'Zeher' or the entire 'Aashiqui 2' album, or even the latest tracks from 'Hamari Adhuri Kahani', good music is something that you can always expect in Mohit Suri's films.

Audiences may not remember the films he has directed, but they certainly recall the music from his movies. The 'Awarapan' director says he never approaches a composer with the intention of creating a hit. "Many people come and ask me how my films have such great music. I do not know how to play a musical instrument, I cannot write music as I am not well versed with Hindi. I have never gone to a composer with an intention of creating a hit song. I talk to my composer about the emotion behind the film, not too much about the location or extra details," he said.

Suri is a man who always follows his heart; whether it is in terms of films he directs or the music he selects for his films. He avoids going with current trends, and prefers to do things in his own style. “Whenever I tried to imitate someone or something that was not me, it has backfired. Whenever I was just myself, I was appreciated. When 'Aashiqui 2' was about to release, I remember telling Mahesh Bhatt that I want this film to work because the film was me. I knew post the film, I would have hits and flops as a director, but if 'Aashiqui 2' worked, I knew I would be accepted completely. That was one film that began very small but went on to become massive,” he explained. Musically for 'Aashiqui 2', many people advised Suri to remix the title track of the first 'Aashiqui' film, but he refused, saying that the sequel has little relation to the first part. “I think when you follow your heart it does take time but finally you land you where you want to be,” Suri further added.

When you speak musicians who have worked with Suri, they always lay emphasis on the fact that he never interferes in the creative process. All he does is brings out the core quality of a person and asks them to create music accordingly. "Mithoon and Ankit Tiwari have very different personalities. Mithoon's silence is resonated through his music because that is the kind of a person he is. Whilst Ankit has the angst, the flair and the passion of India. On the other hand Jeet is someone who will add his own personality and add a classical element to the song which takes the album to a whole new level," he commented.  According to him, one cannot bind an artist or lay down terms in order to get good music as the minute you try and categorise any art form, it becomes superficial.

Imitation is something that does not work in the industry. When Suri brought Atif Aslam from Pakistan to make music, it brought in fresh melody, and everyone in the industry started to do the same. “The best example of the same was Himesh Reshammiya who even admitted to me that 'Woh Lamhe' inspired him to become a singer. Most of them started imitating the music because they thought that was what Bollywood wanted and that was their ticket to become stars. But it was Rahat Sahab who did not do any of that, and he succeeded. For me good music is always something that finds its way and is often long lasting. This is probably the reason why people do not remember the films I have made, but remember the songs from them,” he further said.