Aishwarya in Sarkar Raj; (below) the music duo Bapi and Tutul (with the accordian)

Despite the hype surrounding Sarkar Raj, from Mumbai to Bangkok, you would be forgiven for not knowing who its music directors are. Bapi-Tutul, the composer duo, neither made it to the film’s premiere at IIFA in Bangkok nor were they at the film’s music launch earlier. “Ota ekta jogakhichuri launch chhilo,” Tutul says of the evening which inexplicably launched the background music (by Amar Mohile) in the presence of the Triple A cast.

But the brothers have no complaints. “Even Monty (the composer) was not on the podium at the music launch of Sawaariya. The corporate world is new to film-making. They will gradually learn the worth of music directors,” reasons Tutul.

But their absence from Bangkok was due to work pressure. “We were busy recording the background score of Zor Laga ke Haiya (a Mithun-Riya-Mahesh Manjrekar starrer),” says the younger of the brothers, known in their school-leaving certificates in Bihar as Sudipto and Sumanta Bhattacharya.

The success of Sarkar Raj has made the ground beneath their feet in Bollywood firmer. “In fact, when the music of Sarkar became popular, we decided that we would work on our own as music directors in the sequel.” That is why the challenge was to surpass themselves.

The Govinda Govinda chant might sound like a leitmotif common to both films, but Tutul points out that the new one is different. “Shankar Nagre has become a corporate figure with wider acceptance. So the vocal orchestra used as many as 40 voices, including those of women and children.”

Tutul agrees that the lack of a full-blown romance in the film worked as a disadvantage for the music director. “You can call Jhini Jhini a romantic duet but it was a very difficult job as the character was a public figure surrounded by gunmen and convoys. In the midst of it all, two people (Abhishek and Aishwarya) are coming together. The song had to bring that out.”

Despite having composed for a star-studded cast, Tutul point to the small-budget surprise hit Khosla Ka Ghosla as their turning point. “The industry could have easily labelled us as dark musicians. Thank god, Khosla... came along.”

No wonder it was jubilation time when the film picked up a National Award.