MUMBAI: Known for composing over 160 short films and numerous ad film, Advait Nemlekar is a composer and music producer with a distinct style and soul for music. Having a vast experience, Advait speaks on how he took baby steps towards learning music, in an exclusive interview with Radioandmusic.

“I started learning music at the age of three. It is a really cute story. There was a Casio in my house and I was really interested in it. One day my parents had gone out for dinner, I started fidgeting and playing with it. A few hours later, I saw my parents and everybody else looking at me with emotional eyes. They realized that I have some sort of inclination towards music. They set me up into classical music, which helped me to figure out my true roots of music. I took the training for seven years until the age of 10. Later, when we visited composer Raju Singh, he was kind enough to suggest me to go into western music,” revealed Advait Nemlekar.

Advait went through several stages in his life and met these people on his way. “There was a person in my building, who was a string arranger. He mentored and taught me. Later, I was assisting Sneha Khanwalkar and was under her for quite some time, but later, I realized, I want my own name and I don’t want to be somebody’s assistant. I got this opportunity at the age of 17 to score for a short film. I scored for it and everybody loved the track. That’s when my journey began. Nobody teaches you music direction, you learn by chance. And the best thing about music direction is that short films are the right way to go because they are the only medium where mistakes are tolerated to an extent, you can learn from those and get better. I scored for eight short films,” Advait told.

“I also always loved scoring for ads and I enjoyed doing because you can always explore. The television industry catches hold of you, but then later I realized that television is not something I want to do.  My first project was with Abhinay Deo, who is the director of Delhi Belly. He was kind enough to give me a chance and really loved my music. Later, I slowly got projects like Naal, where the initial bit was obviously difficult because I did not know that there would be Sairat filmmakers in it,” elaborated Advait.

Advait is also into scoring music for games, he’s done a cover of Battlefield 4, where his music takes you on a different tangent. He narrates an incident on how he went onto scoring for games, “It happened by accident. My brother was playing a game and he got me onto it and I started playing. I fell in love with that game, but I told him that the music is not punchy enough. He told me to give it that sound then and post I gave it, the music went on to become a hit. Gaming is a billion dollar industry and luckily I am a nerd, when it comes to games that I buy and play. They have amazing soundtracks. I started my YouTube channel by covering scores of games and that’s what got me a lot of views as I was the only Indian doing that.”

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On being whether he ever thought, music might not be his right field, he said, “Of course, we all go through a period in life, especially, as freelancers. At the time, you don’t have work, you feel it’s the end of your life, but this was not the case for me. Luckily, I have got work on the platter and never really gone to people, begging for work. I have gone and met people and seen what they have to offer.”

When asked, what Advait Nemlekar does off music Advait said, “Times when there is no work, I consider that as a rest period. I will completely detach from music and rehearse my music instruments, travel, discover newer sounds.”

Advait Nemlekar is also noted for his works in Gujarati cinema. His notable film credits include Gujjubhai The Great (2015) and GujjuBhai - Most Wanted (2018), a Gujarati comedy-drama featuring Jimit Trivedi, Jayesh More, Vyoma Nandi, and Sunil Vishrani in important roles. Further Advait revealed that more than Hollywood and Bollywood projects he is inspired by games, where he scores music for. He said, “I have observed that some people like to portray bigger than what they are. I enjoy doing short films. With short films, you have a very personal touch. This is the film where one puts his heart and soul and as a music director, I want to be with them in those times. These are the moments, where they really value and appreciate you.”

Lastly, Advait reveals his upcoming music projects, which include his next project is Laakhon Mein Ek Season 2 from Amazon Prime. “I am doing ads and a new Marathi film called Bodhi, which is going to be releasing next year,” concluded the singer.

Advait Nemlekar, has also composed music for several TV series' like All About Section 377 (2016), I Don't Watch TV (2016) and Gangster Newton (2017).  Advait has collaborated with music biggies from the industry like Shankar Mahadevan, Sukhwinder Singh, Usha Uthup, Javed Ali, Harshdeep Kaur and is the winner of the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award for best music director.