We are like twins. Our thoughts are similar. You can just distribute the answers he gave between us,” laughed Harmeet Singh of the Meet Bros on joining the conversation with t2 after elder brother Manmeet Singh had taken most of the questions. The composer duo, with a string of hits to their name this year, speak of the recent split with Anjjan Bhattacharya, their third “brother”, their new track (Party in the jungle ) for Animal Planet’s ‘Yeh Mera India’ campaign, and why they don’t need trained singers in Bollywood.

Meet Bros Anjjan (MBA) was giving so many hits. Why did you and Anjjan split?

Manmeet: We three are like brothers. But Harmeet and I are too similar — same boarding school and college, same friend circle ... But Anjjan is sober, subtle, laid-back. We are outgoing, energetic, social, peppy. At some point, one’s personality becomes one’s music. Through our music, too much of the Meet Bros colour was coming out. He felt his personality was getting repressed. And why would we need three people to make a song? We are all independent music directors. So we sat together and took a mutual decision. We helped him meet new producers, gave him one of our two studios to work in. Of course, we still play our songs to each other and take suggestions. We are still doing a lot of stuff together, which we have already pitched together as MBA (Meet Brothers Anjjan).

Didn’t having him around give you versatility as a trio?

Manmeet: No. All three of us can do all types of songs. Some of our next releases, of which Anjjan is not a part, will be hardcore romantic music. Bhushan Kumar heard our Do lafzon ki kahani for a Deepak Tijori film and said this is the best romantic stuff he has heard lately. Also look out for our work in Baaghi.

How many more projects are coming from the three of you?

Manmeet: We have 10 more movies. You will hear Meet Bros Anjjan till 2016-end.

How was the break-up made public?

Manmeet: It hardly feels like a break-up. Hero, Welcome Back and Calendar Girls, our current releases, have MBA songs. We are still working together thrice a week. When the first song from All Is Well, Nachan farrate marke, came out in the name of Meet Bros that in itself was a statement and people started calling to ask what happened. In two days, the song got a million hits.

Chittiyaan kalaiyaan, Selfiyaan, Beparwah, Main hoon deewana tera...would you say 2015 is the biggest year for you?

Manmeet: No, 2016 will be our biggest year. (Laughs)

And Kanika Kapoor will continue to be your lucky mascot?

Manmeet: Always. Our relation goes back to 1992. Her brother and I studied together. She was our rakhi sister. We always loved her voice and wanted her to come out.

Is this culture of having multiple composers in a film here to stay? Till five years ago, no big composer would agree to share credits.

Manmeet: This is the future. In Hollywood, different songs are composed by different people. It has started here and nothing can change it.

Didn’t you start out as actors?

Manmeet: We did four-five shows for Ekta Kapoor on Star Plus and Colors. We were waiting for our songs to be out and it was taking that long. But if there is a memorable role, I wouldn’t mind doing it.

You tweet songs of Coldplay, Westlife, David Guetta...who do you listen to when free?

Manmeet: It might sound weird but I don’t listen to any music. It’s been six-seven years. On TV, I watch only Crime Patrol and Animal Planet. Otherwise I hear only those songs which become too big to escape from.
Harmeet: I listen to music in the bathroom — whatever plays on the radio. That is the only time my phone is off.

And when you walk into a party, chances are you are listening to your own work...

Harmeet: I appreciate other people’s music also. I am really looking forward to Party in the jungle playing in parties. It has an uptempo club beat — poora energy hai gaane mein. Nightclubs ko hum jungle bana denge.
Manmeet: (Laughs) That’s the idea behind the music. We like to make people dance. That’s obvious from our songs — Babydoll, Party toh banti hai, Pink Lips, Chittiyaan kalaiyaan.… The one request we made when Animal Planet approached us was that they let us do our thing. Preaching doesn’t appeal to the youth. Musically, the language they like to hear is party song. So we thought of making a song that people would want to download or play at parties after hearing it on TV.

Did the channel give you the theme?

Manmeet: No. They just showed us the earlier songs that they had got done. We said: “Let’s make it like a music video.” That way everyone should be able to enjoy the song, and not just animal lovers. We created the song in three days. I can’t compose if I am told how to do it. Then it becomes a situational film song. And even in films, none of the situational songs work unless the film becomes a blockbuster. It is not for people who enjoy music in cars, clubs, on phones and in parties. It is only for directors who want to take the story forward. If only there is a hook that goes with the situation and the film is a hit then people hear it.

Is that a thought you share with directors?

Manmeet: That’s the only fight we have with filmmakers. We keep telling them music has to be independent. Don’t tie us down with a situation. If they want to tell a story they can just have a background song for which they don’t need us. If anybody wants our music they should take the music we have and not what they want it to be. If the song says: ‘Main subah jata hoon, aam khareedta hoon, kaatke khata hoon, bachche ko bhi khilata hoon,’ who is interested? If I say: ‘Meri chittiyaan kalaiyaan hain’, or ‘Babydoll main’, all girls may feel it or want to sing it to their boyfriend or dance to the music in front of the mirror at home. Most small towns don’t have discos or the right crowd where they can party. So they dance in the house or at weddings. It should be generic so they can relate to it. Situational music is not relatable at all.

Have you ever been forced to make such songs?

Manmeet: So many times and you wouldn’t even have noticed the music ever came out. Take Do Dooni Char. Each song was situational. That music was a waste. If we got best newcomer awards for it, it was because we did the background too.

So do you now make your point clear to the makers?

Manmeet: Yes. Like the Party toh banti hai song in Bhoothnath Returns. The director was very particular about the situation but luckily, the producer Bhushan Kumar believes music should be commercially successful. We worked hard with the writer Kumaar to get the words which worked as a party line as well as fitted the situation where a political party was fighting elections. It takes time to make a song and I can make only so many songs in my career. Why should I waste time making songs which will do neither us nor the film any good?

There are allegations of Chittiyaan kalaiyaan being similar to some Baluch song...

Bollywood is very popular in Pakistan and the UAE. There is this Baluchi group which performs at weddings. Whatever song they like, they write a version and start singing. When Babydoll came out, they did that and people started saying it is lifted. When Chittiyaan kalaiyaan came out, they even did a version of the rap we had done. Anybody is allowed to make a version but they should give credit. We filed a case against them and they were knocked off YouTube. If they want it back on the Net, they have to give us credit.

You did a Bengali film (Kkoli, starring Kharaj Mukherjee and Rajesh Sharma) last year. Now that Anjjan has left will Meet Bros do any more work in Bengal?

Harmeet: Of course. We are already talking to the same producer, Vignesh Films, about another song. I am working on the situation right now.

Sudeshna Banerjee
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