The Guitarists

Bodhisattwa Ghosh

Occupation: Guitarist with Zoo and The Bodhisattwa Trio. He has played the guitar in songs like Phiriye dewar gaan from Hemlock Society, and in Mishawr Rawhoshyo (songs and background), Hawa Bodol (all songs and background score), Chander Pahar (background score), Obhishopto Nighty (songs & background)...

Way I work: As far as Tollywood is concerned, it is a completely different territory from what I do. I like to explore new avenues. For Phiriye dewar gaan in Hemlock Society, Anupam (Roy) had given me a detailed brief as in what kind of guitar sound/texture he was looking for. Whereas Indraadipda (Dasgupta) lets me interpret each of his songs the way I perceive it, and put down my own layer, editing them later according to his will. Rajada (Narayan Deb) on the other hand lets me play/create guitar parts individually.

Take on Tolly music: Every music director has his unique voice. I am very fond of the works of Indraadipda, Anupam and Rajada. It’s fun working on Tolly soundtracks. The ones that I have worked on have been very versatile and interesting, both technically and sonically.

Challenges: While playing a song I have to understand and interpret the composition almost immediately on the first listen and since the entire system is thoroughly professional, my playing precision and versatility always have to be at its peak. However, on background scores, the challenge is not only those but also the sonic reactions to the visuals, dialogues, and situations happening on screen. On many occasions it is more challenging than playing on songs.

Subhodip Banerjee

Occupation: Guitarist with Anupam Roy Band, Neel and the Lightbulbs and Ifs and Buts. He has played the guitar in movies like Highway, Family Album, Window Connection, Chhayamanush....

Way I work: As a guitar player it was natural and exciting to try and play on some movie soundtracks. I try to maintain my own sound as a guitar player. I’m not at all into playing distortion and shredding. When I play for the movie soundtracks, it’s always more clean arpeggios and acoustic guitars, and some overdriven electric guitar parts.

Take on Tolly music: It’s always great to hear instruments being played live on movie soundtracks and different musicians being called for sessions, to do what they do best.

Challenges: Playing the right parts, which are maybe not always the best parts as a guitar player but stuff which suit the tracks, the story or the ambience. At the same time the aim is to play something that sounds fresh and creative.

Ritaprabha Ratul Ray

Occupation: Guitarist with Cactus. Played on the soundtracks of movies Damadol, Nayika Sangbad, Highway, Desidaru.Com...

Way I work: The music directors usually give me a rough idea of the visualisation and the vibe of the song. We record the song over an acoustic guitar for chordal references and then I start recording keeping in mind the brief that I have. One time when Gabooda (Gaurab Chatterjee) and I were working on the song called Poth harano from the movie Damadol, we actually ended up recording the guitars first and then everything else! The whole minimalistic approach to the track with just an acoustic guitar, a bass guitar, a tabla and an occasional electric guitar along with the vocals worked wonders for us!

Take on Tolly music: In the last three or four years, the Tollywood industry has been producing a lot of films designed for the urban audience. With the change in the visuals, the audio tracks including the background music score have evolved too.

Challenges: In scoring for films and playing for soundtracks, the challenge is to fit my stuff perfectly over the visuals, in a way that pushes the director’s work to the next level. I like to believe that I bring in a more contemporary sound, something that is amazingly beautiful and yet has not been heard by most.

The composers

Mainak ‘bumpy’ nag chowdhury

Occupation: The bassist of ethno-jazz band Kendraka makes his debut as a music composer with Soukarya Ghoshal’s Pendulum, starring Radhika Apte. The film releases this month. He has also assisted Tanmoy Bose in composing for films.

Way I work: I generally listen and take notes during script-reading sessions. Then I visualise it as a motion picture and chase melodies that I hear in my head. I compose with my guitar and also my bass. I have been playing for 17 years and directors who come to me are looking for a sound which ranges from Latin, rock to fusion jazz.

Take on Tolly music: You can tell by listening to the music or score whether the music director has any perspective at all. Some of the music directors like Anupam Roy, Indraadip (Dasgupta), Gaurab Chatterjee and a few others make more sense as the music they are creating are more real.

Challenges: Here one has to focus on visuals. So what one composes will add to the entire structure of the movie. But the reverse also happens when the songs or themes are composed first and used while the movie is being shot. There is a definite line of thought. The sensibility or sensitivity of the composer and arranger is what determines the success of such compositions.

vikramjit ‘tuki’ banerjee

Occupation: Guitarist/composer with Krosswindz. The band has composed for films like Judhajit Sarkar’s Naseeruddin Shah-starrer Khashi Kotha (background score) and ARU (working title) while Tuki has composed for Kolkatar King Co.

Way I work: I usually sit with my acoustic guitar and strum a few chord progressions or I sit at my midi keyboard and fire up a nice piano sound on my VST synthesisers looking for ideas. The moment I get an interesting idea I record a demo at my home studio. We always try and keep our signature sound.

Take on Tolly music: Of late there has been some very good work happening in Tollywood. Directors/ producers come to us looking for that signature Krosswindz sound. I am experimenting with a lot of genres. We are also asked to emphasise on eastern melodies.

Challenges: Composing for films is the opposite to making a music video. Here the idea of a visual is ready before the music is put together. Scoring music for films is different from composing for oneself because here one has to compose keeping in mind the requirements of the director/ producer and the film as a whole.

Text: Arindam Chatterjee