SARGAM KE SITAARE

INTERVIEW OF LYRICIST SWANAND KIRKIRE & MUSIC DIRECTOR SHANTANU MOITRA


PART 2.1

SM: Shantanu Moitra
SW: Swanand Kirkire
MS: Mamta Singh

MS: Shantanu-ji, aab aap se poochhti hoon ki kya aap ne bhi kabhi
sochaa tha ki sangeetkaar banenge?

SW: kiske bachpan mein kisne sochaa hogaa ki (all laughs)

SM: yeh 'possible' hai ki aap jaan sakte hain ki aap gaa sakte hain,
yeh aap jaan sakte hain ki aap kuchh saaz bajaa sakte hain, lekin yeh
bilkul naheen jaan sakte ki aap 'music direct' kar sakte hain, kyunki
yeh ek 'hidden talent' hotaa hai. iskaa shrey isko jaata hai ki main
ek 'middle class Bengali' parivaar se hoon aur 'background' yeh hai
ki mere pitaaji ke parivaar ke jo hain woh sab sarod bajaate hain

MS: shaastriya sangeet ke jagat ke

SM: bilkul, aur unhone shaastriya sangeet mein itne bure waqt dekhe
the ki woh bilkul 'clear' the ki main is 'field' mein na jaayun,
paDhaai likhaai karoon aur ek 'office' mein kaam karoon, 'but music'
se naheen. to maine paDhaai likhaai kee Economics ki aur naukri kar
raha tha, aur ittefaaq se kahin se phir 'music' juD gaya. haan, ek
chhoTaa sa yeh hai ki jis 'colony' mein rehta tha Delhi mein, uska
naam hai Chittaranjan Park, ab yeh Kalkatta ke baahar sabse baDaa
samooh hai bangaaliyon ka. aur kahin naheen hai itna baDaa, videshon
mein naheen hai, kareed 15000 'families' rehte hain. to yahaan pe
kuchh na kuchh 'cultural activity' hota rehta hai, aur 'especially'
Durga Puja mein, jo bahut baDaa 'festival' hai, to Durga Puja ke
samay ek prathaa tha jab apna likha huya, apna banaaya huya
gaana 'stage' pe gaaya jaayegaa. yeh tha ek, 'youth' ka ek tha. ham
5/6, aur aise 4/5 'groups' the. woh apne gaane likhte the. yahaan se
pataa lagaa ki main dhun de saktaa hoon. agar yeh naheen hotaa to
mujhe kabhi bhi naheen pataa lagta ki main dhun de raha hoon. to yeh
main bahut aabhaari hoon pitaaji ka ki Chittaranjan Park mein gaye,
varna mujhe pataa hi naheen chaltaa. wahaan se, aur mujhe shauk bhi
tha, maine 'guitar' seekha tha, 'folk music' ka bahut shauk hai, main
bahut 'folk music' sunta hoon, 'but' kahin pe, jaise Swanand ko pataa
naheen tha ki likhenge, waise hi mujhe pataa naheen tha, shaayad
isiliye dosti hai (all laughs).

MS: chaliye aapki baaton se mujhe ek aur baat ka pataa chal gaya ki
aap 'folk music' ke baDe chaahnewaale hain. aur Lucknow se taalluKh
rakhte hain. aur mujhe lagta hai ki Uttar Pradesh ka lok sangeet
baDaa samriddha raha hai, aur aap bangaal se bhi taalluKh rakhte
hain, to bangaali sangeet bhi aapko bahut achchhi tarah se aata
hogaa, aur Swanand-ji ne zikr bhi kiya ki bangaali shabd aap daalte
rehte hain. to main chaahti hoon ki ek ek TukDaa, ek ek 'line' agar
yaad ho aapko to...

SM: lok geet main ek bangaal ka gaana chaahta hoon jo baDaa
ek 'interesting', kissa yeh tha ki main jab pehli baar Gulzar saahab
se mil raha tha, unhone mujhse kahaa ki koi bangaali geet gaayo, aise
hi, baiThe huye the. to maine 3/4 'line' gaaya tha. to unhone
ek 'interesting' kahaani bataaee thi ki woh jab likh rahe the,
Bandini ke liye 'I think', Salil Choudhury dhun de rahe the, 'ready'
naheen the, woh din raat 'table tennis' khel rahe the, ab Bimal Roy
aa gaye, kehne lage ki 'dhun 'ready' hai ki naheen?', to jaldi baazi
mein dhun 'ready' naheen tha to kya kiya ki ek lok dhun tha, usi
ko 'adapt' kar liya. main usi lok geet ko gaata hoon, aapko pataa lag
jaayega ki uska Hindi roopaantar kya tha, (sings) "aamaay Doobaaili
re aamaay bhaashaayli re aakul doriyaay jeno kool naai re, gangaa
aaye kahaan se gangaa jaaye kahaan re lehraaye paani mein jaise dhoop
chhaon re".

MS: waah, bahut achchha lagaa. to kyun na isi geet ko yahaan pe sun
liya jaaye!

SM: zaroor sunaaiye agar aapke paas hai to

MS: bilkul hai yeh gaana hamaare paas, chaliye sunte hain

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Song: gangaa aaye kahaan se (Kabuliwala)
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MS: aap dono shaastriya sangeet ke baDe chaahnewaale hain. matlab,
aapka poora parivaar shaastriya sangeet se juDaa huya raha hai. to
Swanand-ji, aap se main jaanna chaahti hoon ki Kumar Gandharv ke
aapka jaana, sangeet ka woh maahaul aur woh riyaaz, zaraa aap un
yaadon ko TaToliye aur mujhe bataaiye koi meeThee si yaad.

SW: yaaden bahut hain, main aapko ek cheez bataa doon ki jab aap kisi
bahut achchhe jagah par ho, to aapko pataa naheen hota hai uske baare
mein, jaise main, mere pitaaji, shaastriya sangeet seekhne ke liye
Pandit Kumar Gandharv ke ghar jaate the, meri maataaji bhi jaati
theen, aur ham bachche the to hamein bhi le jaaya jaata tha. to itnaa
zyaada sangeet sunte the ki pataa naheen lagtaa tha ki itne baDe ghar
mein jaate the, itni baDi jagah pe jaate the, itna 'important music'
hamaare kaano mein paD raha hai. to mere liye woh baDaa sa ghar,
wahaan par aanewaali kuchh Amar Chitra Kathaayen, jismein 'comics',
Indrajaal 'comics', woh kuchh kitaaben, to mere liye
zyaada 'important' woh duniya hoti thi. to main gaane se thoDaa
bhaagta tha. aur main apna kuchh Amar Chitra Katha paDhtaa rehta tha
(laughs), yaa Devas baDaa sundar shahar hai, to wahaan ghoomne nikal
jaaya karta tha. to kabhi us tarah se gaane pe dhyaan naheen diya.
lekin jab Kumar-ji, jab main thoDaa baDaa hota gaya, unke dehaant ke
baad jab main Delhi aaya, lekin kaan pe mere bahut gaana paDaa, bahut
gaana sunaa maine unkaa, jab Delhi aaya to 'arey jahaan se main aaya
hoon wahaan to saare log dekh rahe hain'. main jaanta hi naheen ki
itni baDi viraasat se maine, maine kuchh bhi naheen liya apne liye,
lekin jo apne aap mil gaya woh mil gaya. to aise maine Kumar-ji ke
saath mein, itna ki woh ek National Programme kar rahe the Delhi
mein, yahi 'radio' ka, to main aise hi 'studio' mein baiha huya hoon

MS: bilkul aamne saamne

SW: haan, bilkul saamne, to chhoTaa sa tha to 'bilkul chup chaap
baiThna, hilna Dulna mat'. kuchh log purkhon ki kamaaee khaate hain,
to main bhi kuchh isi tarah purkhon ki kamaaee khaa raha tha.

SM: yahaan pe ek baat bataana chaah raha hoon, shrotaa sun rahe hain,
ham hameshaa jab bachchon ko bolte hain ki bachpan mein unhe kuchh
saaz seekhaaya jaaye, gaana gawaaya jaaye, mujhe lagtaa hai ki usse
zyaada 'important' hai ki ghar mein maahaul ho uskaa. kyunki maar-
peeT ke seekhaana ek hai, aur ghar mein aur kuchh jab woh kar raha
hai lekin maahaul us cheez ka ho, usmein aapko zyaada seekhne ko
milta hai. aur mujhe lagta hai woh zyaada aham hai, 'tutor' lagaake
seekhaane se zyaada.

MS: bilkul sahi baat hai, woh kehte hain na ki dekh dekh ke bhi....

SM: haan, aapka rujhaan agar us taraf hai to, lekin aapka man agar
kisi aur cheez mein hai aur aapko zabardasti gaana seekhaane pe tule
hon to shaayad aap zyaada na seekh paayen, kyunki bachche ka man
waise hi thoDaa sa, 'rebel' hota hai usmein.

MS: bachpan ke dino ke naam kaun sa gaana nazar karenge Swanand-ji
aapki or se?

SW: "ek tha bachpan ek tha bachpan"

MS: kya baat hai, sunte hain yeh gaana.

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Song: ek tha bachpan ek tha bachpan (Ashirvaad)
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MS: aur Shantanu-ji, aap kauns a gaana apne bachpan ka sunna
chaahenge?

SM: mujhe bahut achchha lagta hai yeh gaana, "yeh kaun chitrakaar hai"

SW: "hari hari vasundhara pe neela neela yeh gagan"

MS: jee jee

SM: woh National Anthem tha 'school' ka (laughs)

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Song: yeh kaun chitrakaar hai (Boond Jo Ban Gaye Moti)
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MS: ab aage baDhte hain, aapke anya tamaam filmon ki or. aur kaun
kaun si filmen hain jinmein Swanand Kirkire aur Shantanu Moitra ka
saath raha hai? kin kin filmon mein saath saath kaam kiya hai?

SM: chalo ginte hain

MS: (laughs) kramvaar

SW: Hazaaron Khwahishen Aisi, Parineeta, Eklavya, Lage Rahi Munna
Bhai, Khoya Khoya Chaand, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, aur bas, abhi to
itna hi hai

SM: abhi itna hi hai.

MS: ab ham Parineeta ke gaano ka vistaar se zikr karna chaahenge
kyunki Parineeta film ke sabhi gaane bahut pasand keeye gaye, mujhe
bhi bahut pasand hai, aisa naheen ki baaki filmon ke naheen pasand
hai (laughs), lekin Parineeta ke gaane baDe sureele hai

SM: Parineeta ke gaane hamaari zindagi mein bahut aham hai, bahut
Khaas hai, kyunki ek 'recognition' milaa, woh Parineeta ke gaane the,
kyunki aise gaane jo chal sakte hain, jo prakriti ke...

SW: sureele

SM: sureele, yeh maahaul jo 'create' huya, usse ek 'confidence' milaa
aur pehchaan mein aaye logon ke ki aisa kaam kar rahe hain ham log.

MS: to sabse pehle zikr karna chaahoongi "piu bole" ke 'composition'
ke baare mein, Sonu Nigam aur Shreya Ghoshal ne gaaya hai.

SM: Vidhu Vinod Chopra ke ghar mein ham log baiThte the, 'office'
mein 'sorry', to subah 11:30 baje se, mujhe 'time table' yaad hai
abhi bhi, 11:30 se 2 baje tak, 2 se 3 'lunch time' hota tha, aur 3 se
5 baje tak. main 'guitar' leke jaata tha. Swanand, main, Vidhu Vinod
Chopra, Pradeep Sarkar, subah se shaam tak gaane gaate the, gaane
banaate the aur ek kamaal ka maahaul tha. yeh ek maheena chalaa aur
us ek maheene mein Parineeta ke gaane bane. aur "piu bole" mein
Rabindra Sangeet ka ek halka sa 'feeling' chaahiye tha Pradeep-ji ko.
to wahaan se shuru kiya maine. "piu bole" se dhun shuru kiya phir
waapas leke aaye, Swanand ne phir uske upar likha. mujhe abhi bhi
yaad hai ki 'I think' kai din tak ham sirf (hums the tune of "piu
bole") koi shabd hi naheen tha. woh ek mujhe baDaa yaad hai ki
ek 'picnic' ka maahaul tha.

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Song: piu bole piyaa bole (Parineeta)
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SW: Parineeta ka jo pehla gaana hai, pehli baar jab Vidhu Vinod
Chopra-ji se milne gaye the, usse pehle hamne ek gaana banaaya
tha "raat hamaari tum chaand ke saheli", to woh pehla gaana tha
Parineeta ka jo hamne banaaya tha, aur jo Vidhu Vinod Chopra-ji ko
sunaaya tha to unhone 'immediate' bolaa tha ki 'inko bulaayo'.

SM: uske saath hamne aur 5 gaane keeye the, unhe sunkar kahaa tha
ki 'yeh bahut gande hain, yeh bilkul naheen chalenge, aise kaam
karoge to...' (laughs). lekin "raat hamaari" 'was the first song and
then' "piu bole" 'happened, then' "soona man ka aangan" 'happened,
then happened' "kasto majaa hai re lai maa",

SW: woh phir "nayi nayi naheen yeh baaten".

SM: Pradeep Sarkar ke saath to main pehle bahut kaam kar chukaa hoon,
dono wohi 'office' mein kaam karte the. mere liye ek alag jo 'life'
tha 'non-creative', main Bank Manager, wahaan par Pradeep Sarkar the,
aur unhone mera jo pehla 'album' tha Ab Ke Saawan, unhone uska 'video
shoot' kiya tha. aur saath mein kareeb 1500 'ads' kar chuke hain ham
log. to itna mujhe pataa tha aur Swanand ko maine bataaya bhi tha ki
yeh agar gaane achchhe hote hain to yeh aadmi inke 'realization' mein
kahin aur le jaayegaa. main bilkul 'confident' tha ki Pradeep
Sarkar 'was a brilliant video director'.

MS: Shantanu-ji, aap yeh bataaiye ki "kaisi paheli", Sunidhi ne jo
gaaya hai yeh gaana, is gaane mein 50 ke dashak ka, 'club song' jaise
maahaul hai.

SM: 'correct'

MS: to yeh jaanboojh ke liya tha aapne yaa...

SM: mjaine bilkul jaanbioojh ke liya tha kyunki us zamaane mein
jo 'clubs' hote the, unka maahaul hi aisa hota tha. aur maze ki baat
hai ki 'club songs' mein zyaada 'poetry' hoti thi, kyunki us samay jo
saare 'intellectuals' the Calcutta mein, woh sab aate the shaam ko
aur 'discuss' karte the, 'from China to Vietnam', aur woh maahaul hi
aisa tha ki jab 'intellectual' maahaul tha tab aap koi 'frivolous koi
gaana naheen gaa sakte. to aapko, gaane mein bhi ek 'poetry' tha.
woh 'culb song' tha, woh 'actually' ek 'item number' tha, dekhiye
kitna fark hai woh 'item number' ka aur aaj ke 'item number' ka,
jahaan pe shabd ka prayog bilkul na ke baraabar hai. to yeh bilkul
soch samajh ke kiya tha, waisa 'arrangement' kiya tha, dhun ka
jo 'style' tha, jaisa Sunidhi ne gaaya tha, bilkul cheeKh chillaake
naheen, ek ajeeb ek halka sa, 'low pitch' rakha tha unkaa, aur
baKhoobi gaaya tha Sunidhi ne, to yeh ek 'experimentation' kiya tha
hamne.

MS: aur Rekha-ji par filmaaya gaya tha

SM: 'correct', woh baad mein huya tha

SW: yeh hamaara 'decision' naheen tha (laughs)

SM: ek kamaal ka 'incident' huya tha is gaane mein, Vidhu Vinod
Chopra aaye the 'studio' mein, aur Raima Sen bhi baiThi huyi theen,
aur woh gaana sun rahe the, aur gaana sunte sunte maahaul itna kamaal
ka ho gaya ki unhone Raima Sen ka haath liya, unhone 'ball dance'
kiya. aur main dekh raha tha, mujhe ek ajeeb 'feeling' ho rahi thi ki
ham ek 'creation' kar rahe hain aur logon ko Khushi mil rahi hai,
achchha ek 'experience' tha.

MS: jee, to yahi gaana sunte hain.

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Song: kaisi paheli zindegaani (Parineeta)
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to be contd...