MUMBAI: Piyush Mishra has gone all out for Anurag Kashyap's new movie Gulaal - composing the music, penning the lyrics, lending his vocals to two tracks and even acting in the movie.

Mishra says that he has tried to recreate the music era of the 1960s and 70s with the film revolving around the conflict of contemporary India trying to break the shackles of its past. As Gulaal is a tribute to the iconic lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi, he says that the music composed is more of the conventional type.

Gulaal directed by Anurag Kashyap is slated for release on 13 March and stars Kay Kay Menon, Deepak Dobriyal, Aditya Shrivastav, Jessi Randhawa and Seema Rehmani, besides newcomers like Raja Chaudhury, Ayesha Mohan and Abhimanyu Singh.

This is the first time that Piyush Mishra has written the lyrics and composed the music for all the songs in a Hindi feature film. Speaking on the music of Gulaal,  Mishra says that the soundtrack for the movie has eight songs, of which he has lent his vocals to two of the tracks 

Rahul Ram sings Aarambh which has the elements of a track that manages to capture the sounds of an ongoing revolution. Shilpa Rao sings Aisi Sazaa, a mature and enchanting number which is defined by her powerful voice amidst soft instrument playing. Beedo by Rekha Bharadwaj is an upbeat folk number that retains authenticity on account of her voice but has an almost rustic rhythm to it. Rahul Ram and Aushim come together for Yaara Maula. Duniya, sung by Mishra, has an almost dark and brooding feel to it with philosophical lyrics. Raat ke Musafir by Rahul Ram is defined by the amazing guitar playing throughout the song. Piyush Mishra and Rekha Bharadwaj come together to sing Ranaji. It has an almost quirky feel to it with references to Bisleri water and the 9/11 incident. Sheher by Piyush Mishra and Swanand Kirkire has an almost dark and urgent feel to it. Indian Ocean render their vocals to Sheher and Yaara Maula.

When asked whether acting and composing for the movie was a difficult act to juggle, Mishra says that it was not strenuous but more of an exciting challenge that came his way. He composed the music and penned the lyrics for the movie in just seven days.

Both he and Kashyap understood the basic requirement for the music of the movie and composing the music provided him with a platform to bring forth the rawness of the issues that arise in the movie, he says.

Piyush Mishra is a graduate from National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi who made his film debut with Mani Ratnam's Dil Se in 1998, though he continued to stay in Delhi to pursue theatre. He won the Zee Cine Award for Best Dialogue in 2003 for Rajkumar Santoshi's The Legend of Bhagat Singh.He was praised for his performance as Kaka in Vishal Bhardwaj's film Maqbool and wrote his own dialogues for his role in the movie Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. He has also acted in Samurai, a Tamil Film, Mathubhoomi, Deewar and 1971. Piyush Mishra and Anurag Kashyap friends from their days at NSD, Delhi have worked together on various projects 

Mishra has written lyrics for Anurag Kashyap's Black Friday with Indian Ocean composing the songs for the movie. He has also written the lyrics for movies such as Aaj Nachale, Tashan and Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar.

Piyush Mishra started his career as a theatre actor and went on to write and direct several plays. From sculpting to playing the sitar, he says he is still on a journey to experience more of what life has to offer.

Speaking about his interest for acting, composing music and writing lyrics, scripts, dialogues, Mishra says that he is not partial to anything in particular but thanks God for allowing him to pursue his interests in various fields and being able to explore various facets of his personality.

Describing himself as a lighthearted romantic, he believes that he can truly make good music only after fully understanding the essence of what a movie requires.