Konkona Sen Sharma

He is the quintessential man of music who chooses to let his music do all the talking. And now, Trilok Gurtu has finally taken the Bollywood plunge. Son of classical singer Shobha Gurtu, Trilok is all set to do the background score for Sidharth Srinivasan’s directorial debut Amavas, which constitutes an ensemble cast of Konkona Sen Sharma , Tara Sharma, Mahesh Manjrekar and Victor Banerjee.

This is, however, not the first time Trilok has been approached to score music for a feature film. “I was offered Kama Sutra by Mira Nair but at that time I was travelling a lot and couldn’t commit to it. Also, it would have been too time consuming for me then.” But he couldn’t turn down Srinivasan. “It was essentially his dedication that impressed me. The story of Amavas was another reason that attracted me to the project. Add to that the role that my music and me would play in the film. In fact, I had no idea of the cast when I signed on the project.”

Although Trilok has brought about many new sounds performing alongside the likes of John McLaughlin and Salif Keita, he loves the “older school” when it comes to Hindi film music. “Now, there is too much masala and the basic element of music is missing. Also, there is too much of western element in the compositions. Originality is a rarity these days. I still prefer the likes of S.D. and R.D. Burman, Salil Chowdhury, Madan Mohan and Laxmikant-Pyarelal. I also like Toru Takemitsu, Lalo Schfrin and John Williams. In the current scenario, A.R. Rahman is nice.” He, however, sees nothing wrong in being “inspired” by musical notes from the past. “If it’s happening…take it! Everyone is borrowing from everyone, so it hardly makes a difference.”

Trilok Gurtu

Although Amavas will be Trilok’s “stepping stone” to film music, he seems to know exactly how to go about things. “It is the visual element that one has to adhere to rather than one’s expertise as a musician. The music for a film should help in conveying the story better and enhancing the storytelling.”

He doesn’t mind that the film is “songless”. If a song would have been a demand of the story, it would have been there, is his simple answer. There is one question, though, that Trilok is yet to figure out and that is the definition of his sound. “How would you define God?” is his counter question. We’ll wait for a blue moon for an answer to than one.