You are composing for Mahesh Bhatt’s Blood Money. What kind of music will it be?

There are four songs in Blood Money. There’s a sad song, a sad romantic song, an out-and-out romantic song and a Sufi number. Maheshji and I had a few sessions where we discussed music. He asked about my likes and dislikes in music. Actually, Bombay directors don’t discuss the storyline. They like to keep it under wraps. Maheshji asked me to compose whatever I felt like but he briefed me about the mood.... He gave me a lot of freedom. He was always open to suggestions. He insisted that I use the song Khujechhi toke raat berate from Josh in Blood Money. So the lyrics go Jo tere sang kati raate. He likes Swapno nil from Poran Jai Joliya Re and also Boro eka eka lage amar from Saat Pake Bandha. I might use them in other Hindi films. I have also used Ferari mon from Riingo’s System. It’s there in Blood Money as Gunah kiya tere dil ne. I loved the song so much that I requested Maheshji to let me use it in the film.

Will this be your second Hindi film after Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai?

Not really.... I had composed for a film called Tere Liye with newcomers, before Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai. Yash Chopra’s Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai was my first break in Bollywood. I used to work with Pritam then.

You use a lot of Hindi words in Tolly songs...

Yes, like the title track of Paglu which goes Paglu thoda sa karle romance. The Dui Prithibi song with Koel (Mallick) and Jeet also has a smattering of Hindi. And why only Hindi? I have also used English words, like Oh my love in Amanush. Even Javedsaab (Akhtar) used Bengali in the song Hey shona in Ta Ra Rum Pum. See, today’s college crowd uses Hindi and English words, the lingo has changed and they are my target audience.

You mostly compose for romantic films. Isn’t it a pressure to sound different every time?

Honestly, I want to do music for different films now, otherwise it becomes very monotonous. Currently, I am doing the music for Sandipan Roy’s Ekla Akash and I am enjoying it very much because the subject is very different. Goutamda (Ghose) will lip-sync for a song, which is a great feeling.

Do you watch all the films that you compose for?

Not all, I watch some. I watched Prem Amar because I had done its background score too. That’s the only film for which I did the background score. I usually don’t do the background score because then you have to devote a lot of time to the film and you cannot take up any other film. It’s too taxing. You have to listen to the story, sit with the director after the film is complete and decide when the music will be in and out, and then compose the theme. Then you sit in the mixing studios for another three days. If I do four films a year then it’s possible to do the background score, but I do more than three. I did it for Prem Amar because I cannot say no to Raj (Chakraborty, director) as he is very passionate about his projects.

When do you do your homework?

On the flight from Mumbai to Calcutta and back. Believe me, that’s when I compose songs in my mind. When Raj narrated the story of Chirodini... Tumi Je Amar he wanted something different. I wondered what songs to give a boy who rides a bicycle and falls for a rich girl studying in an English-medium school. I was on the Kingfisher flight to Mumbai and I heard their track Ooolalala, and I immediately composed Ooo lalla, I love you my Soniya. After getting off the plane, I called Raj and sang it on the phone. He liked it and the rest is history! I don’t sit and think about what to compose, a tune might come to me when I am on my morning walk!

Who’s your inspiration?

I love Sudhin Dasgupta and Panchamda’s (RD Burman) music. I loved the combination of Sudhin Dasgupta and Arati Mukhopadhyay. They rocked. I was a student of Carlton Kitto as a kid and I learned singing from my mother (Mina Gangopadhyay). My father (Kali Gangopadhyay) was an arranger and accordionist, and played with Panchamda.

Isn’t it difficult for you to compose music for Bengali films sitting in Mumbai?

No, Calcutta is just three hours away for me. I shifted to Bombay in 1996. I live in Andheri and that’s my base now. I am comfortable. I might compose the music for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s next film starring Boman Irani and Farah Khan. Bela Bhansali is the director.... So I have learnt to bridge the gap between Bombay and Calcutta. Besides, I am very comfortable working in Calcutta. Being a Bengali boy from Baranagar, I feel at home here.

His starry favourites:

Prosenjit: Keura from Refugee

Mithun Chakraborty: Merechhi parar rock e adda from Minister Fatakesto

Dev: Bhojo Gourango from Challenge

Jeet: Khujechhi toke raat berate from Josh