“THIS IS WHAT I'VE LEARNT FROM AR RAHMAN SIR…” - NAKUL ABHYANKAR REVEALS!

How was the experience working in Love Mocktail 2 again as a Music Director, Composer and Singer? What's new in terms of music for the sequel?

 Love Mocktail has been a fantastic story. The first part did really really well and the music was appreciated a lot. I was a big part of the music-making process with Raghu Dixit. The movie did really well. When I heard they wanted to assign me up for Love Mocktail 2 as a Music Composer, I immediately jumped and I was like "Yes, I want to do it", because the story is great, the people are great. The team is amazing and its a completely story-oriented project. It's a very new feeling with an important responsibility to make good music because the first part was such a big hit and we're aiming at making a second part bigger and better. The story is great for the second part. Lots of scopes to explore different genres of music. It's a great exercise to brainstorm new ideas with the team. The life of Adi continues where he left in the first part. It should sound like a journey and my whole responsibility is to bring in something new to music but at the same time make sure that your story does not disturb the whole colour of Love Mocktail shouldn't tamper with. The first part had great melodies and the same responsibility comes to me to make some fantastic melodies and deliver the right emotions that need to be conveyed to the audience because this movie is all about emotions, it's a love story, it's about romance, happiness, sadness, nothing out of the box, nothing out of the scope of the story. So there are 4 songs in the film, and all the songs have an intention behind and have to tell something which cannot be said by words, a thousand things can be conveyed through a song and that is something that I'm aiming at doing.

Definitely, with the knowledge of music I've come across over the years, I'm trying to shape colour for the film which is my own and resonates with me. That's the whole aim, not sticking to one genre but giving something fresh to the audience, something not common in the Kannada industry and yet be with the script. I think I have all the freedom to do that because the team is great, Krishna and Milan have given me a lot of freedom to explore. It's like I've composed something and sent it to them and they like it and I say I think I can do a better job, I can give you another option and they're open to it. It's not like I send them one tune and they're stuck with it. It's a great combination and lovely experimenting zone for me as a composer.

How is the music of Love Mocktail 2 different from the first part of the film?

As I said, I don't have to force myself for this music to be different from Love Mocktail 1 because the story is evolving and different emotions are being portrayed in the second part. It's not like the second movie doesn't have the template of the first part. Generally, we see the first part is there and then comes the second part where you'll find a lot of similarities in terms of movie-making or the editing or acting, this movie is not like that. It's a continuation of the story and life of Adi and his love life. The music is going to evolve and it has to be mature, has to speak a lot and deliver a lot of emotions and I think eventually it will be different from Love Mocktail 1.

As a composer, what are the keys you would highlight? Your beautiful learning journey with Rahman Sir?

Well as a composer its a completely new world than being a singer or the music producer for other music directors because there's a crazy amount of responsibility on you as a composer to make sure that the music resonates with others and gives justice to the film and the story. Lots of thought process goes behind making a song or a background score, just not music, it's all about how we translate the emotions into a musical language that's portrayed and that's a challenge for a composer. As a composer for me it's the greatest strength that I'm a vocalist and I try to use my voice as an instrument to compose most of the songs that I do rather than sit on a piano and figure out something because for me, I get a great amount of good flow when I'm singing, something pops out and I keep recording myself. Then I listen to the whole jamming session that I do, sometimes very good phrases come out and I keep it. These are the things that I've put into practice as a composer. Every day is a new task to figure ways to come up with something new, new ways to compose tunes. This is something I've learned from AR Rahman Sir and how he tweaks every tune and how he comes with tunes to make sure that the emotions are delivered right. Looking at his work, he's very inspiring and it's just so beautiful, the way he works on tunes, the way he picks up a scenario and comes up with multiple thoughts, he translates that particular sequence or situation and implement into many many musical symbols and represents them and plays it with the Director and sees what is in it the most. So it's a big journey. A lot of importance is given to the production also, like let's say coming up with a simple hook line in the song that might resonate with the people, what kind of groove will go into the tune. All those things. It's great learning to look at him and understand the sensibilities of a composer. So it's been a great learning experience being associated with him.

Share with us your experience of working on the major song 'Dhakka Laga Bukka' youth anthem with Rahman Sir?

Dhakka Laga Bukka has been one of my favourite tracks ever since it was released for the movie Yuva. That song was in the loop for me for at least a year and so. All-time while playing cricket and football, we just grooved to this song and everyone would get some josh (confidence) while playing. So many memories are connected with that song. I never imagined or even dreamt of being a part of this song as an official release coming right from Rahman Sir's studio. It's a dream come true for me and to be a co-singer with Sir for that song it's a next-level thought. I'm still on cloud nine when it comes to this song. That song has been produced so well and the people have received the song so well after so many years. This shows the excellence and the strength of Rahman Sir as a composer and his visions and him as a visionary because he composed this song around 17 years back and the song has been re-released and it's received well, extremely well by the youth and the teenagers of today. It's great, as Rahman Sir says "that song is like a cult song, it's a cult hit. It's not like I've composed it, it's no pride. It's just that emotion and yes it has become a cult, it has become a part of the culture". That's a beautiful thing to know for a Composer. Rahman Sir is truly blessed with such abilities to compose wonderful songs which have eternal life and this is that song I'm truly blessed to be a part of.