MUMBAI: After the success of ‘Hawaizaada’ early this year, ‘Pani Da Rang’ composer Rochak Kohli has composed three tracks for the film ‘Welcome to Karachi’, which features Arshad Warsi and Jackky Bhagnani in lead roles.

Talking about what inspired him to take up the project Kohli said, “The plot and the screenplay really inspired me. This is a dark comedy which hints the satire, so people would enjoy watching it. The film is not really serious or heavy in its message.” Initially the film featured Irrfan Khan, which is why the songs were a bit matured, Kohli revealed. But when Jackky Bhagnani came in the composers thought that the music should be youth oriented. It was for this reason that the tracks ‘Lalla Lalla Lori’ and ‘Boat Ma Kukdookoo’ were composed. A couple of days ago Kohli created the third track ‘Mera Yaar Funtastic’.

The first track, ‘Boat Ma Kukdookoo’, is based on a party happening on a boat. “Initially, I used a bass guitar and a table, but when Jackky came in he wanted the song to be a dance number. So we made an R&B kind of song with catchy beats, and got Mika Singh on board,” he said. He further added, “It was Jackky’s idea to convert a lullaby into a song. We jammed for two days and that is how we got ‘Lalla Lalla Lori’. This song picked up on the charts.”

Kohli also did the background music for the film, for which he took 25 days. In an industry where background music is not given much importance, he laid down his terms. “I told the producers very clearly that I am not a background music guy. I compose music for songs, thus I would need my own space. Every scene I would compose like a song and I believe that is what it should be. In the West, background music is not taken lightly and it is not a child’s play. In Bollywood producers and composers take it very lightly,” he said.

Kohli, who used to be a producer for a radio station, revealed that the medium helped him recognise his audience. “For every film I know who my audience is and accordingly I cater to their needs. If my audience is young, you cannot give them ‘gyaan’. Niche audience cannot take ‘Lalla Lalla Lori’”.
His upcoming projects include a single with Ayushmann Khurrana, and films like ‘Bank Chor’ with Yash Raj Films and ‘Bombay Mills’ with T- Series.