Today whatever sells becomes a hit: Sajid Ali
MUMBAI: Over the years, Indian music scene has undergone major changes and the bitter truth today is that whatever sells becomes a hit. But fortunately, at the end of the day it ultimately depends on the music director on what kind of songs they wish to create and set the trend in bollywood, opines music composer Sajid Ali.
Renowned music composer Sajid of Sajid-Wajid duo, says that his mantra is to create songs that can be enjoyed by all members of an Indian family, without any embarrassing surprises.
“Today, many films cannot be watched sitting with the entire family together. Songs have their world which is different from the visual medium. I feel comfortable that my music can be enjoyed by a family together. We have always tried to bring out music that represents our Indian culture along with a blend of modern beats,” he states.
Ali strongly objected on the use of rant lyrics, he says, “Today our songs are successful across the world. I think a blend of intelligence and honesty will showcase the best of a composer’s work and there is no need to grab public attention by composing profane and rave lyrics.” There is also a real danger in getting trapped in a particular category (of music) in the public perception and then it becomes very difficult to get back your reputation. “There are many professionals who are into making that sort of songs(irreverent) but somewhere down the line I feel we are morally responsible for the society,” Ali asserts.
Throwing light on the inside story of music directors, Ali said that appreciation is a part of the music family but it is very important to have competition as it helps to create better music. “When the song ‘Dhan Te Nan’ (Kaminey) came out, for the very first time I felt that there is competition and was really unhappy. I even went to Salman bhai (Salman Khan) and told him that I am hurt, so it is very important to have competition,” he shares.
Ali also revealed that he does not share close friendship with anyone in the music industry. “We all meet officially, but I don’t party or share a close friendship with anyone. Salim-Sulaiman are my childhood friend and are like brothers to me but it’s only recently that I have made few friends like Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Vishal Bhardwaj and Vishal-Shekhar. I feel very comfortable with them but otherwise I don’t gel with anybody in the industry as I feel whenever I meet them there is a lot of competition that goes in their mind.”
With a workload of composing up to 40 songs a month for various films Ali neither has the time nor does he believe in competing with his peers and prefers to listen to songs without bothering too much about who the composer(s) are.
“There is a need for competition in the music industry. I am not friends with my peers. But there are many music directors who talk to you because they want to find out about your projects, the amount you’re getting. I was born and brought up in Mumbai, not from somewhere that I have to build myself a ‘Taj Mahal’. It’s our work and you have to do it. I come from a musical family and I know the ground reality. Those people leave you with a feeling that you should have never met them,” he says.
Ali’s musical inspiration include Zakir Hussain, Michael Jackson, ‘Pardes’ (Nadeem Shravan), ‘A Love Story: 1947’ (RD Burman) and Madan Mohan.
“I like to interact with directors like AR Rahman, Shankar Ehsaan Loy (SEL), Vishal Shekkher, Anand Raj Anand and respect their work. Among the new crop of artists, Sunidhi Chauhan and Shreya Ghosal, have great potential.”
“My advice to new comers especially is to stop copying, create original fresh music. One gets inspired all the time, but if one’s heart is true then you will be an inspiration to others. One also needs to keep a clean heart and get blessings of your parents and God,” he signs off.
Red FM's RJ Malishka came on-board as a special ‘Guest Editor' at Radioandmusic.com's (RnM) office and engaged in a special interaction with Sajid Ali and contributed to the fifth anniversary celebrations of RnM.
